Thursday, March 8, 2012

Daily Motivation 3-8-2012

Thursday, March 8, 2012
Today's Gift

Before the rain stops we hear a bird. Even under the heavy snow we see snowdrops and some new growth. —Shunryu Suzuki

The signals that new growth is underway are often very small at first. It's sometimes discouraging when we are trying to remake our lives and all we can see for our efforts is minor growth. That is how the natural world works, and we are part of this world. When the little sprouts of growth first develop under the snow in spring we don't even see them unless we search. Yet, they signal the beginnings of a total transformation. Time will bring vast changes, but only little signs are showing first.

Today, we may search for signs of progress in our lives. The little things we see may signal bigger transformations yet to come. To be true to them in the long run we must accept them - even welcome them - as they are today.

I will notice the subtle movements toward health and renewal in my life. Welcoming them will encourage them.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men©

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

To create is to boggle the mind and alter the mood. Once the urge has surged, it maintains its own momentum. We may go along for the ride, but when we attempt to steer the course, the momentum dies. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh

A sense of spiritual well-being warms us when we are selfless, when we step away from our obsessing egos, when we let our pure, unfettered desires direct our thoughts and our steps. Our egos may be keeping us caged in old behavior, old fears. Egos struggle for self-preservation; unfortunately, it's our old, unhealthy self the ego is preserving.

The Steps make it possible for us to unload our baggage from earlier days, baggage that intrudes on our perceptions of today's events. The Steps clear the path so we can move responsibly forward.

Living creatively is living in the thick of the flow, trusting the flow, spontaneously moving with the flow, not controlling the flow. We are Spirit-full when we let ourselves roll forward, resisting not, doubting not. And our greatest contributions will be discovered when our ego takes a rest.

Action for the Day: My creativity awaits my discovery. It's there. I will release it from the clutches of my ego.

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One Day At A Time

Honesty
I know the biggest word for me in AA is "honesty."
I don't believe this program would work for me
if I didn't get honest with myself about everything.
Honesty is the easiest word for me to understand
because it is the exact opposite of what I've been doing all my life.
But I will never be totally honest -- that would make me perfect. Only God is.
If I work on it every day, it will be easier to be honest with myself.
- Experience, Strength and Hope, pp. 400-401

Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W =
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

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Daily Motivation

Limitless treasure

Every moment is a new opportunity to more fully experience and express the value of your life. The value you live is the value you give.

What you get out of life is not merely a result of what you put into it. What you get out of life and what you put into it are precisely one and the same.

Every moment is an opportunity to invest yourself in meaningful purpose. The quality of that investment at any given time is what defines the true quality of your life.

Fulfillment is not about acquiring something that exists outside of you. It is about more richly and more completely experiencing the unique, magnificent value that is already and always within you.

Life’s circumstances do not, in and of themselves, enhance or detract from the value of your life. Each event, each circumstance gives you a new way to explore and experience that value.

The best you can live is the best you are willing to give, and there’s no limit to what that can be. Fully invest yourself in each moment, and delight in the limitless treasure that is already yours.

— Ralph Marston

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