Daily Motivation 11-2-11

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Today's Gift

 

You really need to take care of yourself because you won't be good for anyone else unless you take care of yourself. -- Harry Bartholomew

 

Do we merely assume we are taking good care of ourselves? It's perhaps a good idea to list all the ways we think this is true. Do we get enough exercise? What is enough, anyway? Are we eating the right foods and enough of them? How about rest? Do we take naps when needed, as well as get a good night's sleep? What about laughter? Some would say there's no better elixir than a good laugh. Of course, we have to be willing to laugh at ourselves, on occasion, to make the most of it.

 

Taking good care of ourselves is much more in our control than we might have imagined. We are able to laugh at will and to eat what's good for us. We are also very much in control of how we feel about the circumstances of our lives. Whether we think we have it good or bad has a great deal to do with the details of each day.

 

We're not much fun to be around if all we do is moan and whine. Neither response ever takes good care of us. And both of them hinder the day's experiences for our companions, too.

 

The best thing I can do for me today is smile at my life, my friends, my remaining dreams. I can show I care.

 

From the book Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

 

 

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

 

Love and the hope of it are not things one can learn; they are a part of life's heritage. --Maria Montessori

Love is a gift we've been given by our Creator. The fact of our existence guarantees that we deserve it. As our recognition of this grows, so does our self-love and our ability to love others. High self-esteem, stable self-worth were not our legacies before finding this program. We sought both through means which led nowhere. These Steps and our present relationships are providing the substance and direction needed in our lives to discover our worthiness.

Had we understood that we were loved, in all the years of our youth, perhaps we'd not have struggled so in the pain of alienation. We were always at the right hand of our Higher Power, never apart, loved and watched over. But we didn't recognize the signs. The signs are everywhere present now. Each Step is a constant reminder. Every human contact is a message from our Higher Power. Any desire we are eager to make manifest is a beckoning from our Higher Power for growth.

 

Action for the Day: I will look for the signs of my benefactor today. They're present everywhere.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Reaching Out
The proof that love freely given surely brings a full return,
the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons,
the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes
but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things..
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 124

Thought to Ponder . . .
Only in giving do we receive in full measure.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Awesome.

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Daily Motivation

How truly fortunate

Don’t just sit and wait for good fortune to come to you. Good fortune is something that comes from you.

Good fortune unfolds when you truly believe, with no doubt, that you have it. Good fortune comes to be when you give it a compelling reason to be.

Good fortune is not merely something your mind constructs. It is something your essential spirit expresses and incorporates into your life.

How thankful can you be? That’s what will determine how fortunate you are.

How much can you appreciate what you have? That will determine the value of what you have, and the good fortune that you are able to make with it.

Allow life’s abundance to become your good fortune. Be thankful for every little thing, and discover how truly fortunate you are.

— Ralph Marston