A good indignation brings out all one's powers. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Anger is a human emotion that gets us in touch with our energy and our vitality. But like any good thing, it can also be used in hurtful ways. When we examine the role anger has played in our lives, some of us can see where we used it to intimidate and dominate others. Maybe we can recall being terrified by someone else's anger or even by our own. Some of us denied our anger and covered it with excessive helpfulness.
Examining the place anger has had in our lives is one of the doorways we must pass through to regain our full masculine spirit. We learn to set aside the anger we used to cover fear or hurt. We express it respectfully and honestly when we feel it in a relationship. Expressing anger does not have to be abusive or rejecting. It can mean we care enough to be fully involved and we will not leave after we express it. We can learn to hear others in their anger rather than attempt to control or evade their message. In the process we are invigorated and feel healthier because we are claiming a larger part of ourselves.
Today, I will first be honest with myself about angry feelings. Then I will find respectful ways to express them.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men©
Walk In Dry Places
Strong Desire
Willingness is the Key
Although willpower alone does not work in overcoming alcoholism, there is a place for the will, or willingness, in the search for a happy sobriety. Things can happen if we are willing to let them happen. More important, progress often depends on our willingness to give up what stands in our way. It also requires our willingness to take the actions necessary for success.
This same willingness, so vital to finding sobriety, is also applicable in other areas of our lives. The pioneers of AA suggested that getting sober required being willing to go to any lengths. This is the key to other achievements and to the overcoming of problems besides alcohol.
We often have to put up with unpleasant conditions simply because we do not want to change them badly enough. For example, we may dislike the unpleasant coughing and risks of smoking, but lack the willingness to quit. We may brood over lost opportunities, but be unwilling to take advantage of the opportunities we have now.
The key to constructive change in our lives is willingness...... and that applies to other matters as well as to alcohol...............
Action for the Day: I'll try to be honest today about what I really want. I will remind myself that if I want something badly enough, willingness is the key to action and to success.
Awakening
Is sobriety all that we are to expect from a spiritual awakening?
No, sobriety is only a bare beginning;
it is only the first gift of the first awakening.
If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on.
As it does go on, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life
-- the one that did not work -- for a new life that does work
under any conditions whatever
-As Bill Sees It, p.8
Thought to Ponder . . .
A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K I S S = Keeping It Simple, Spiritually.
Let life arrive
Open yourself to all that is here and now. Open yourself to the sounds, the textures, the sights, the tastes, the aromas and the feelings as they arrive in your awareness.
Let life arrive, and let yourself marvel at the wonder and abundance of it all. Experience for yourself, free from all doubt, how anything is possible.
All that you desire is somewhere within all you already have. And now you have the fortuitous opportunity of working steadfastly to fully express it.
Open yourself to life’s best possibilities as they ride in on waves of now. What life continually brings you is always more than enough, when you choose to make loving use of it.
Let go of the illusion that you can win by fighting. Let your highest dreams be nourished by each and every thing that comes your way.
Let life arrive in all its richness. And as it flows through your awareness and your purpose, delight in adding your own unique value.
— Ralph Marston
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