Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Today's Gift
The time of discipline began. Each of us the pupil of whichever one of us could best teach what each of us needed to learn.—Maria Isabel Barreno
"When the pupil is ready, the teacher appears." Life's lessons often come unexpectedly. They come, nevertheless, and they come according to a timeframe that is Divine. As we grow emotionally and spiritually, we are readied for further lessons for which teachers will appear. Perhaps the teacher will be a loving relationship, a difficult loss, or a truant child. The time of learning is seldom free from pain and questioning. But from these experiences and what they can teach us, we are ready to learn. As we are ready, they come.
We all enjoy the easy times when the sailing is smooth, when all is well, when we are feeling no pain. And these periods serve a purpose. They shore us up for the lessons which carry us to a stronger recovery, to a stronger sense of ourselves. To understand that all is well, throughout the learning process, is the basic lesson we need to learn. All is well. The teacher is the guide up the next rung of the ladder.
Let me be grateful for my lessons today and know that all is well.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey ©
Handling Trouble
There are times when things just don't work out, despite our best efforts. Even in sobriety, we can have business or marriage failures, accidents, sicknesses, or trouble in holding a job. Sobriety is no guarantee that things will always work out according to our expectancies.
But no disappointment or failure has to throw us or cause permanent distress. It is some comfort to remember that the meeting of the first two AA members came out of a business failure, not a success. On many occasions, a disappointment or a setback can actually give a person the insight and understanding needed for a new, more successful effort.
We do not, of course, want to rationalize failure. We should also accept responsibility when failure has been the result of negligence or wrong action on our part. Nevertheless, as we continue to seek and to follow our Higher Power's guidance, we will find the course of our lives that fits our needs and capabilities. There is a higher good in everything.
Any willing newcomer feels sure AA is the only safe harbor
for the foundering vessel he has become.
Now if this is not turning one's will and life over to a newfound Providence,
then what is it?
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 35
Thought to Ponder . . .
If I self-forget I find.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
L E T G O = Leave Everything To God, Okay
Daily Motivation
Live with substance
Make your life mean something. Make your moments count.
Don’t merely get by, and don’t just settle for keeping up appearances. Live with substance and live with meaning.
It’s easy to get caught up in being trendy and popular, and to think that those things are all that matter. Yet you are capable of so very much more.
It’s easy to get discouraged when the little things don’t go your way. But remind yourself that the little disappointments will soon pass, and you’ll have new opportunities for real fulfillment.
What you can do with this moment is far more important than the little distractions that come your way. What you can do with your life is far more important than the pains and disappointments that occasionally trouble you.
Remember often how truly unique you are, and how precious and powerful your life is. Then, easily, naturally, and joyfully, fill each day and live each moment with meaning and purpose.
— Ralph Marston
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