To do nothing is failure. To try, and in the trying you make some mistakes and then you make some positive changes as a result of those mistakes, is to learn and to grow and to blossom. —Darlene Larson Jenks
Life is a process, one that is continuously changing. And with each change, we are offered unexpected opportunities for growth. Change is what fosters our development as women. It encourages us to risk new behavior and may even result in some mistakes. Fortunately, no mistakes can seriously hinder us. In fact, most mistakes give us an additional opportunity to learn.
Where we stand today is far removed from our position last year, or even last week. Each and every moment offers us new input that influences any decision from this moment forward. The process that we're participating in guarantees our growth as long as we remain conscious of our opportunities and willingly respond to them. We can be glad that the life process is, in fact, never static. always moving, always inviting us to participate fully.
I will have the courage to make a mistake today. It's a promise of growth.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey©
********************************
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Walk In Dry Places
Self-acceptance.
Fixing things that aren't broken
At the beginning of our AA sobriety, we were reminded that we were not reformers. Yet we sometimes have a tendency to want to "reform" ourselves or others after we've established sobriety.
This can become a practice of "fixing things that aren't broken". We may not realize it, but many things in our lives and personalities were always all right, all along. In believing that we should be changed, we may be taking on the opinions of someone else. There might be no need for change at all.
We also may be trying to please people who disapproved of us. Perhaps we're trying to obtain the affection of a parent who always rejected us. But if we're already on a spiritual path and are living rightly, there's no need for change. We'd be trying to fix something that isn't broken.
Action for the day: I'll accept myself and others as we are today. We are not out to reform anyone, including ourselves.
I always thought honesty had something to do with telling other people the truth.
It was explained that it had to do first with telling myself the truth.
I spent most of my life worrying about myself,
thinking that I was unwanted, that I was unloved.
I've learned since being in AA that the more I worry about me loving you,
and the less I worry about you loving me, the happier I'll be.
- Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 218
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Daily Motivation
Value in the doing
The reward is rewarding because you have earned it. It is the work that goes into the planting and cultivation that makes the harvest worth celebrating.
Your effort is what makes your opportunities come to life. Fulfillment has meaning precisely because of the work it demands.
Practice and commitment are what make your skills and abilities yours to use. Discipline and focused effort are what make the achievements worth achieving.
No effort, no job, no task is beneath you. For with each effort comes a new opportunity to enrich your life and your world.
Sure, the task may be difficult. Instead of worrying or complaining about how difficult it is, think about the value it enables you to create.
Embrace the challenge, jump into the effort, and work your way through the difficulties. There is great value in the doing, and now is your opportunity to bring that value to life.
— Ralph Marston
No comments:
Post a Comment