The pain of leaving those you grow to love is only the prelude to understanding yourself and others. —Shirley MacLaine
Life is a process of letting go, letting go of conditions we can't control, letting go of people - watching them move out of our lives, letting go of times, places, experiences. Leaving behind anyone or anyplace we have loved may sadden us, but is also provides us opportunities for growth we hadn't imagined. These experiences push us beyond our former selves to deeper understandings of ourselves and of others.
So often those experiences that sadden us, that trigger pain, are the best lessons life is able to offer. Experiencing the pain, surviving the pain that wrenches us emotionally, stretches us to new heights. Life is enriched by the pain. Our experiences with all other persons thereafter are deeper. Instead of dreading the ending of a time, the departure of a loved one, we must try to appreciate what we have gained already and know that life is fuller for it.
Today will bring both goodbyes and hellos. I can meet both with gladness.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey©
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
SERVICE---A beautiful word fallen upon bad days.---Claude McKay
Service is really a beautiful word. Service means respect. When we serve others we're part of the human race. We all need to help each other. Service is a sure way to stay sober. Helping someone else stay sober helps us stay sober. And service frees us from self-will. It teaches us about how to care for ourselves and others. It teaches us that we're worthwhile. It teaches us that we make a difference. Service keeps us feeling good. Am I quiet when the topic of service comes ap at meetings? If so, how can I change this?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, show me where I can be of help. Give me the courage to make a difference. Give me the courage to really serve others in need.
Action for the Day: I'll list five ways service has made or can make my life better.
Forgiveness
I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart.
I do this not for the other persons' sake, but for my own sake.
Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished,
are things that rot my soul.
Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains.
- Daily Reflections, p.88
Thought to Ponder . . .
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
N O W = No Other Way.
As you are
You are here, as you are, and it is good. You are alive, aware, uniquely inspired, and able to choose from a vast array of possibilities.
Don’t get caught up in worrying about what could have been or what should have been. Instead, turn your awareness toward the very real and present beauty of what is.
There is a great and growing abundance that surrounds you. From that abundance you can fashion meaningful joy and fulfillment.
With what you have here and now, you can live your life in the way you choose. You are ready and able right now to move solidly in the direction of your most treasured dreams.
The problems will come and you can successfully deal with them. The joys will come and you can delight in them.
You have this amazing and valuable moment, so live it to the fullest. Feel the immense goodness, as you are, and be all you can be.
— Ralph Marston
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