Thursday, April 5, 2012
Today's Gift
Easy Does It... Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. – Barbara Johnson
So, you surrendered. You let go. Now you're ready to face a particular challenge. So you hunker down and garner all your forces. And you hit the wall again.
What's wrong? you may ask. I'm doing all the spiritual things I'm supposed to do. And things still aren't working, I can't get anywhere.
Did you ever try to get a key to unlock a door, and you tried and tried, and the key just wouldn't open it? The harder you tried, the more frustrated you became. So you stopped trying for a while, relaxed, and tried again. Voila. The key fit perfectly and the slightest turn unlocked the door.
There's a gentler way of being in the world, of trying things, doing things, going about our business.
Whether I'm tackling a specific project, enjoying a new relationship, or grinding through some miserable situation, my first inclination is to force myself and try too hard. If one cup of tea tastes good, I'll drink five. If I want to express love or concern for someone, I'll overdo it.
"If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well," doesn't mean if it's worth doing, try harder and harder. Doing it well means relaxing and letting the actions unfold gently, naturally, without force. Pull back a little. Relax.
From the book 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself ...---Anne Frank
Many of us look at the joy and beauty of the program with caution. It was different from our addictive joy. Was it to be trusted? When we started working the Steps, we found inner joy and beauty. As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy.
Prayer for the Day: May I become better friends with myself. Higher Power, let me see the world through Your innocent, yet wise and loving eyes
Action for the Day: Today I'll work to make my life and the lives of others more joyful. I'll greet myself and others with much joy.
Laughter
Some of the biggest belly laughs at AA meetings erupt
when a member describes his or her own latest orgy of self-pity,
and we listeners find ourselves looking into a fun-house mirror.
There we are -- grown men and women tangled up
in the emotional diaper of an infant.
It may be a shock, but this shared laughter takes a lot of the pain out of it,
and the final effect is salutary.
- Living Sober, pp. 57-58
Thought to Ponder . . .
Laughter is music to my soul.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.
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Daily Motivation
Joyful effort
The very best effort is joyful effort. When there’s joy in what you do, then you’ll be doing it at your highest and most effective level.
Sometimes it is difficult to be joyful about what you’re doing. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Remember that the joy doesn’t come from the effort itself. Any joy you feel is joy you choose to feel, that comes from within you and flows outward.
Even the most mundane task can be an occasion for joy. Because every moment of life provides you with the opportunity to express your own joy.
You don’t have to be naive or in denial to feel joyful. All you have to do is choose to live and work with joy.
Give yourself and your efforts the gift of real joy. Not only will you be more effective, you’ll also feel great, no matter what you might be doing.
— Ralph Marston
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