Daily Motivations 3-31-11

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Today's Gift

 

Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear. --Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Reflecting on the past reveals that indeed we do find the strength and the ability to cope with whatever experience ripples our calm. Moreover, we have come to accept that these tides of turmoil wash in new awarenesses, heightened perceptions, and measurable calm.

Tragedies are guaranteed to trigger first pain, then perceptible growth, and finally, tranquility. Over and over again we pass through these stages that are designed to nurture our fuller development as healthy human beings. Over and over we see that the tough times teach us what we're ready to learn.

We can look to the day ahead fully expecting to be strengthened enough to handle whatever we've been readied to experience. Nothing will present itself that can't be coped with.

Today I can be certain of growing. I will meet the challenges in unison with my inner strength.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

Keep It Simple

With each sunrise, we start anew. ----Anonymous
Like a tree, our life depends on new growth. There are many ways to bring new ideas and growth into our lives. We can attend Twelve Step retreats. We can study books and tapes on spirituality. We can attend different Twelve Step meetings.

But our spiritual newness may not just come from the Twelve Steps. We can do volunteer work or be active in other types of groups. We need to invite new ideas into our lives. We need to stay open to change. It doesn’t matter what renews our spiritual growth. What matters is that we keep our spiritual lives fresh and growing.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, spring is one of the four seasons. Help me feel like spring. Help me to be strong but not stuck Help me be firm yet open to spiritual growth.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll try to do something new. When I get stuck or stubborn, I’ll see that it’s due to my fear of trying new ideas.

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One Day At A Time

Remembering

Whenever I start climbing the walls --
usually because I'm unable to have things my way, like the behavior of my boss,
my son's attitude, or even my country's politics -- I have an instant cure.
I close my eyes and visualize one of the many moments of past horror
and humiliation: waking up in the street, begging a stranger for money,
talking my way into buying a bottle on credit, or (worst of all)
trying to convince a doctor to hospitalize me because I had nowhere to go.
This and the Serenity Prayer always work instant magic.
- AA Around the World, p. 33

Thought to Ponder . . .
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T G I F = Thank God I'm Forgiven.

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Daily Motivation

Rise above the troubles

Many of the things that trouble you are not nearly as troubling as you make them out to be. Much of what frustrates you is frustrating primarily because you have chosen to see it that way.

What if you decided to see things differently? What if, instead of being so desperately troubled by all the troubles, you could simply accept them, deal with them, and move forward in your own way?

Certainly there are very real and important challenges that you must give your time and serious attention to. Yet how many of the other, more trivial things, keep you feeling down simply because you’ve blown them out of perspective?

Every so often as you go through the day, take just a moment to remind yourself how truly blessed you are. When you catch yourself feeling sorry for yourself, choose to turn it around and feel sincerely thankful instead.

Even the difficulties remind you of how fully alive you are. And alive in this world of endless possibilities is a very good thing to be.

Rise above the troubles. From a perspective of gratitude, you’ll see most of them are not nearly as troubling as you once thought.

— Ralph Marston