Daily Motivation 4-23-2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

Today's Gift

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear not absence of fear. —Mark Twain

It is not unusual to feel afraid. It is unusual, however, to hear anyone admit to feeling afraid. Sometimes we think there are some people who are so cool and calm that they never feel afraid. This may make us think we're not as good because we know how often we feel afraid. This is why it is important to think about what courage really is. It is not the absence of fear. Courage is not letting fear stop us from doing what we need to do.

We might have to get up in front of a group to give a speech. We could give in to our fear and not give the speech, or we could admit our fear to those who love us, and then go ahead and do the best we can. To go ahead in the face of fear is courage.

What am I afraid of?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

 

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. --Eleanor Roosevelt

 

We need to take note, today, of all the opportunities we have to offer a helping hand to another person. We can notice too, the many times a friend, or even a stranger, reaches out to us in a helpful way. The opportunities to contribute to life's flow are unending.

Our own vibrancy comes from involvement with others, from contributing our talents, our hearts to one another's daily travels. When we close ourselves off from our friends, our fellow travelers, we block our Higher Power's path to us and through us.

To live means sharing one another's space, dreams, sorrows, contributing our ears to hear, our eyes to see, our arms to hold, our hearts to love. When we close ourselves off from each other--we have destroyed the vital contribution we each need to make and to receive in order to nurture life.

We each need only what the other can give. Each person we meet today needs our special contribution.

Action for the Day: What a wonderful collection of invitations awaits me today!

 

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One Day At A Time

 

A Right to be Wrong 
My Higher Power has allowed me the right to be wrong
in order for our Fellowship to exist as it does today.
If I place my Higher Power's will first in my life,
it is very likely that AA as I know it today will remain as it is.
- Daily Reflections, p. 306

Thought to Ponder . . .
The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them.

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

 

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Daily Motivation

Now and later

You don’t have to sacrifice present joy and richness for future value, and you don’t have to compromise your future to enjoy right now. You can choose to live richly and joyfully in the present while also being positively responsible for your future.

Sure there are momentary pleasures that will have a negative impact on your future. Yet you can fully enjoy this moment without resorting to those empty, fleeting pleasures.

Yes, there are responsibilities you must tend to right now in order to create a more positive future. But there’s no need to feel burdened or oppressed by them.

In fact, one of the best ways to enjoy the present moment is by being productive and creative and focused on a meaningful positive purpose. Instead of filling your moments with shallow pleasures that will soon be gone, you can fill your life with deep, profound joy that will continue to grow stronger.

Being disciplined and responsible toward your own future is not really a sacrifice at all. When you continue to remind yourself of the value of what you’re doing, it is a constant source of satisfaction and abiding richness.

Make the choices that will enrich your future while also drinking in every bit of the richness of right now. Live with authentic positive presence and purpose, and you can have it all.

— Ralph Marston