Daily Motivation 8-18-11

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Today's Gift

 

Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so. --Shakespeare

 

Look for the Good

Life is an interpretive experience. What happens is less important than how we respond to our circumstances. An intense stimulus that some people report as pain others report as pleasure. It is we who decide what the interpretation will be.

 

Are you a "good finder"? A recent study of the country's millionaires showed that the most common trait they all shared was the ability to discover good in any situation. This trait is also common in "triumphant survivors" - those individuals who overcome adversity and emerge strengthened and renewed.

 

A sincere spiritual seeker suffering from a chronic illness wondered, "Why haven't my prayers been answered?" One day, in deep meditation the reply came: "Look for the good in your situation and you will see that the answer has already been provided." Suddenly this woman realized that her crisis provided a wonderful opportunity. She embarked on a program of nutrition, exercise, and yoga, which led to a dramatic improvement in the quality of her life.

 

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Your state of mind is up to you. Choose now to look for the good.

 

You are reading from the book:

Listening to Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

Walk In Dry Places

Living Today

 

Handle Today's Problem
Many of us face seemingly insurmountable
difficulties, perhaps because of our compulsion or simply through
misfortune. Whatever the scale of our problems,One Day at a
Time and First things First, are keys to handling them.

 

Today, we can deal only with today's problems. One of today's problems, of course,
may be worrying about the future. A good method of handling that problem
is to turn our concern about it over to our Higher Power. But when
we do have work that clearly should be done today, we must carry through
with it. It's neither reasonable nor sensible to put off things that we
can and should do today.

 

Action for the Day: There are certain tasks and responsibilities that must be dealt with
today. I will not put them off

 

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One Day At A Time

 

 

An Open Channel
Today -- and every day -- with a heart full of gratitude,
and a desire for my Higher Power's will to be done through me, my life is worth sharing,
especially with my fellow alcoholics!
Above all, if I do not make a religion out of anything, even AA,
then I can be an open channel for my Higher Power's expression.
- Daily Reflections, p. 92

Thought to Ponder . . .
True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we profess.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O P E = Heart Open, Please Enter.

 

 

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Daily Motivation

 

What is easy

Easy is overrated. Though easy is nice and convenient, it is not essential.

Many good, valuable and worthwhile things are not easy. Unfortunately, perfectly acceptable options are too often overlooked simply because they are not easy.

Life is not always easy. And yet life is very much worth living, and very much worth the trouble and effort it often requires.

If you only seek the easiest way, you’ll miss out on the best way. If you avoid what is not easy, you’ll deny yourself great richness.

When you expect everything to be easy, you’ll have to lower your other expectations. Many of life’s greatest treasures are so valuable precisely because they are so difficult to attain.

Go to the trouble, make the effort, and take on the difficult challenges. For out there beyond the comfort of what is easy, you can create and experience the magnificence of what is great.

— Ralph Marston