Daily Motivation 4-5-11

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Today's Gift

 

Friendship with oneself is very important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world. --Eleanor Roosevelt

What do we need from a friend? Let's think about that for a moment and see if it applies to how we treat ourselves.

Let's start with the basics: A friend is for us, not against us. That means a friend won't do anything to harm us if he or she can possibly help it. A friend is there for us when we need understanding, tells us the truth, and does the things he or she promises to do. A friend likes to be around us, thinks we are a good person, and believes we are honest. A friend shares what is going on in his or her life and cares about what is going on in ours. A friend does things to help us feel happy. A friend forgives us when we ask for forgiveness.

We do these things for our friends. And we do a much better job of them now that we are sober. But do we do them for ourselves? It's a question worth thinking about: Am I a good friend to myself.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me pay attention to myself the way I pay attention to my friends.

Today's Action

I will have a little friend-to-friend visit with myself right now. How am I doing? What's going on with me? Want to go for a walk and talk, catch up on things? How about going to the new exhibit at the art museum this weekend? 

You are reading from the book:

God Grant Me... by Anonymous

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God.---Anne Frank

Many of us look at the joy and beauty of the program with caution. It was different from our addictive joy. Was it to be trusted? When we started working the Steps, we found inner joy and beauty. As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy.

Prayer for the Day: May I become better friends with myself. Higher Power, let me see the world through Your innocent, yet wise and loving eyes

Action for the Day: Today I'll work to make my life and the lives of others more joyful. I'll
greet myself and others with much joy.
 

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One Day At A Time

 

Easy Does It
The slogan "Easy Does It" is one way we AA's remind each other
that many of us have tendencies at times to overdo things,
to rush heedlessly along, impatient with anything that slows us down.
We find it hard to relax and savor life.
- Living Sober, p. 44

Thought to Ponder . . .
Rashness and haste make all things insecure: Take it easy!

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Attitude Adjustment.
 

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Daily Motivation

All is not lost

It may very well feel like you’ve been knocked off track. But perhaps, instead, you have found a better way.

It may seem like a setback. But perhaps it is instead an opportunity for you to fashion a more effective approach.

You may feel like you’ve wasted an enormous amount of time on something that didn’t work out. Yet in that time you’ve created much value that somehow, in some way, you can still put to good use.

It’s not any fun when things don’t turn out the way you planned. Yet many times, it may actually be for the best.

Step back from your disappointment and re-connect with your passion. Know that there is a positive and effective way forward.

All is not lost, because you still have the ability and the desire to make things right. Grab your fresh new opportunity to move forward, and run with it.

— Ralph Marston