Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light. —Jennie Jerome Churchill
Taking our friends and loved ones for granted, expecting perfection from them in every instance, greatly lessens the value we have in one another's life. Being hard on those closest to us may relieve some of the tension we feel about our own imperfections, but it creates another tension, one that may result in our friends leaving us behind.
We need the reminder, perhaps, that our friends are special to our growth. Our paths have crossed with reason. We complete a portion of the plan for one another's life. And for such gifts we need to offer gratitude.
Each of us is endowed with many qualities, some more enhancing than others; it is our hope, surely, that our lesser qualities will be ignored. We must do likewise for our friends. We can focus on the good, and it will flourish--in them, in ourselves, in all situations. A positive attitude nurtures everyone. Let us look for the good and, in time, it is all that will catch our attention.
I can make this day one to remember with fondness. I will appreciate a friend. I will let them know they matters in my life.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey©
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
Pray without resentment in your heart. ---The Little Red Book
Resentment is anger that we don't want to turn over to our Higher Power.
Sometimes we want to keep our anger. Maybe we want to "get even." it's hard to be spiritual and full of anger at the same time. When we hold on to anger, it turns into self-will. We get angry from time to time. This is normal. But we now have a program to help us let go of anger. We also know that stored-up anger can drive us back to alcohol and other drugs. Instead of trying to "get even," let's work at keeping anger out of our hearts.
Prayer for the Day: I pray without anger in my heart. Higher Power, I give You my anger. Have me work for justice, instead of acting like a judge.
Action For the Day: I'll list any resentments I now have. I'll talk about them at my next meeting. This is the best way to turn resentments over to my Higher Power.
Possibilities
I have come to believe that hard times are not just meaningless suffering
and that something good might turn up any moment.
That's a big change for someone who used to come to in the morning
feeling sentenced to another day of life.
When I wake up today, there are lots of possibilities.
I can hardly wait to see what's going to happen next.
I keep coming back because it works.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 374
Thought to Ponder . . .
It works -- it really does!
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K C B = Keep Coming Back.
Push yourself forward
There are plenty of obstacles that can stand in your way. Don’t be one of them.
Your own thoughts, assumptions and fears can hold you back just as surely as a solid brick wall. And yet, just as you created those self-imposed obstacles, you can let them go.
Instead of fighting against yourself, use the amazing power of your thoughts to more fully enable yourself. Instead of constructing elaborate excuses for avoiding your dreams, just go ahead and let yourself live those dreams.
Yes, life is difficult and challenging, and requires great effort and commitment on your part. Instead of adding to the difficulty with your own negativity, you can choose to enthusiastically transform that difficulty into profound fulfillment.
Remind yourself what a privilege it is to be alive, and to be able to make a difference. Then, focus your awareness on the positive possibilities and do what you do best.
Use your thoughts not to hold yourself back, but to push yourself positively and lovingly forward. Aim the power of your thoughts in a positive, fulfilling direction and your whole life will go in that direction too.
— Ralph Marston
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