Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.—Abraham Heschel
Most of us have struggled with our self-esteem. We believed if we felt better about ourselves we could change some of our behavior. In recovery we found the reverse to be true. First our behavior changed, then our self-esteem improved.
Only after we stop doing things we don't respect can we hear and accept the goodwill of others around us. Then we see our value as men because we are upholding strong self-images by our actions. This is not easy to do. As we learn, we continue to say no to weak behaviors, and we are released to feel greater dignity.
Saying no to my negative behavior today will improve my self-respect.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
Change occurs when one becomes what she/he is, not when she/he tries to become what she/he is not. --Ruth P. Freedman
Learning self-acceptance, and then loving the selves we are, present perhaps our two biggest hurdles to the attainment of emotional and spiritual health. Fortunately, they are not insurmountable hurdles.
People everywhere are making great strides in self-love and self-acceptance. We are learning self-love. And we are changing. The support we can give our sisters/brothers, and the support we receive, multiplies many times the healthy energy created--healthy energy that touches us all.
Emotional and spiritual health are gifts promised by the program, when we work it. We must move beyond our perfectionism and relish our humanness... We must learn humility and develop faith... Learning to love all our parts, the qualities we like and the traits that discouragingly hang on, offers a new freedom. A freedom that invites change. A freedom that safeguards the emotional and spiritual well-being that we strive for.
Action for the Day: Confidence will come with my healthy self-acceptance.
Gratitude
One exercise I try to practice is to try for a full inventory of my blessings
and then for a right acceptance of the many gifts that are mine --
both temporal and spiritual. Here I try to achieve a state of joyful gratitude.
When such a brand of gratitude is repeatedly affirmed and pondered,
it can finally displace the natural tendency to congratulate myself
on whatever progress I may have been enabled to make in some areas of living.
I try hard to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart
cannot entertain great conceits. When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love,
the finest emotion that we can ever know.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 37
Thought to Ponder . . .
I have learned how a heart full of gratitude feels.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.
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Daily Motivation
A day to be thankful
Every day is a day to be thankful. Life’s abundance has no limit, and gratitude is what keeps that abundance flowing.
In every circumstance there is something for which to be thankful. Even when there seems to be nothing else, there is hope.
Being truly thankful makes you infinitely more resourceful. By sincerely appreciating what you have, you find new and valuable ways to make use of it.
Gratitude makes you more generous and creative. By focusing on how fortunate you are, you’re able to give the best you can give.
When you are happy, be thankful and your happiness is greatly multiplied. When you are feeling down, be thankful and you’ll soon be feeling much better.
Whatever may come, see it as an opportunity to be sincerely thankful. And let life’s abundance flow more and more freely into all your world.
— Ralph Marston
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