Daily Motivation 4-10-2012

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Today's Gift

Celebrate your life and hear your spirit sing. -- Elisabeth L.

"What's to celebrate?" some people ask. We all get our fill of the cynics. Their negativity can weigh down our spirits. But we don't have to let them control how we see our lives or theirs. To keep our own perceptions positive, it helps to detach from the naysayers. We will improve our chances if we consciously focus on gratitude for even the tiny blessings rather than on whatever might be wrong.

Becoming grateful is the strongest, safest means of feeling good now that we are abstinent. Not only does it readily alter our mood, but it changes our perspective on every detail of our lives. To be thankful rather than "thankless" is a small price to pay for unqualified happiness coupled with serenity.

We've all known people who radiate a singing spirit. They love life, themselves, and others. We seek out their company. We can be like those people for the travelers sharing our journey. Let's do it!

I will practice gratitude today and be a blessing in everyone's life.

From the book A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making their nest in your head.---Chinese proverb

 

Life is full of feelings. We can be happy, sad, mad, scared. These feelings can come and go quickly. Or we may hang on to them. As recovering addicts, we used to hang on to feelings that made us feel bad. We let them make"nest" in our hair. We used our feelings as excuse to drink or use other drugs. Now we're learning to hang on to our good feelings. We can let go of anger, hurt, and fear. We can shoo away the birds of sadness and welcome the birds of happiness.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me become a "bird watcher." Help me learn from my feelings. And help me let go of the bad one so I can be happy.

 

Action For the Day: If I need to get rid of the sadness or anger that I'm hanging on to, I'll get help from my sponsor, a counselor, or a clergy person.

 

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One Day At A Time

If
Alcoholism and Addiction respects no ifs. It does not go away, for a week, for a day,
or even for an hour, leaving us nonalcoholic and able to drink or drug again
on some special occasion or for some extraordinary reason
-- not even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, or if a big sorrow hits us,
or if it rains in Spain or the stars fall on Alabama.
Alcoholism and Addiction is for us unconditional, with no dispensations available at any price.
- Living Sober, p. 63

Thought to Ponder . . .
Alcohol/Drugs -- cunning, baffling, powerful!

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Absolute Abstinence.

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Daily Motivation

Small improvements

Small improvements matter, because they can add up to big changes. If you add just one percent to your efforts each day, day after day, in only seventy days your effectiveness will double.

Small improvements are easy to make, and they can make a big difference. The key is to keep making them, to continue improving on the improvements.

Are you frustrated because you’re not as effective as you’d like to be? You can begin to change that right now, and put an end to your frustration.

Accept that you can’t instantly get all the way to maximum effectiveness. Yet you can very realistically make one small, easy improvement after another.

Don’t worry about how you will get a whole lot better. Just find a way, right now, to get a little bit better.

Make a small, easily accessible improvement, and then make another, and another. Soon, you’ll be much further ahead than you ever could have imagined.

— Ralph Marston