One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few. —Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Being selective in choosing activities, in choosing friends, in choosing material possessions fosters unexpected appreciation. Too much of any one thing negates whatever specialness might have been realized. If we surround ourselves with acquaintances, we never fully share in knowing a few people well. If we surround ourselves with "toys," we never learn how we really want to spend our time.
When we don't take life slowly, piece by piece (one shell at a time), we avoid the greatest discovery of all, the person within. When our attention to persons, places, and things is deliberate and steady, the beauty within the object of our focus shines forth, and we, too, are made more beautiful in the process.
Today, I will take time to smell the flowers.
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
You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.---Ethel Barrymore
There was a time when we wouldn't let anyone laugh at us---even ourselves. We had to much shame. We had to much pain. We took the world too seriously. If we laughed it was at others---not at ourselves. Over time , real honest laughter returns to us. Laughter is a way of accepting ourselves as human. To be human means we can make mistakes. It means we can lighten up. It also means growing up. And growing up means being happy with all of who we are---even parts of us that may seem odd or funny. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we shut ourselves off from the world. We shut ourselves off from the parts of us we need to accept. Am I willing to accept the fact that I'm human.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You made laughter. Help me us it to make my life easier. Help me accept all of me a funny mistake I've made.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll share with someone close to me a funny mistake I've made.
Time
And what is time to me now? It is a most precious asset.
I have the luxury of being able to cherish the memory of yesterday,
to live today with serenity, to wait for tomorrow.
I find great contentment in just knowing where I was, and where I am. . .
I am grateful for this minute. My eternity may be in it.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 21
Thought to Ponder . . .
Time is a gift, not a threat.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
O D A A T = One Day At A Time.
Encourage yourself
Many times, the situations and events in your life won’t offer you much encouragement. On top of that, even other people may not have much encouragement to give you.
But that doesn’t mean you have to go without any encouragement. After all, you are perfectly capable of encouraging yourself.
Remind yourself how truly fortunate you are to be able to experience life’s great wonders. Consider all the positive possibilities that are available to you, even on the most difficult days.
You are marvelously free to think what you wish, to feel the way you choose, and to act in the best interest of yourself and your world. On top of that, you’re surrounded by a magnificent abundance that you can transform into great meaningful value.
Perhaps at the moment life is not offering you much encouragement, but that’s not really a problem. Connect with the joys you’ve already experienced, the possibilities of the present, and your dreams for the future, and you’ll find plenty of encouragement within yourself.
Is your world in need of encouragement, and there’s none to be found? Be the encourager, and you’ll be powerfully encouraged.
— Ralph Marston
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