My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. —Clarence Budinton Kelland
We learn much of what we need to know about being men and women from models we have in other men and women. Some of us have fond memories of being next to our parents and imitating their ways. Many of us also have the feeling of a gap in our models. Perhaps our parents weren't around enough, or we may have rejected some of their habits and values, creating an uncertainty about masculine or feminine roles. We may feel unsure of ourselves, or we may berate ourselves for what we don't know.
It is well to remember how much we have already learned in our adult years. It is never too late. No person ever reaches adulthood having learned everything from their parents that they will need to know about masculinity or femininity. We can look around us for more models in the men and women we know. For a person to be our model, we first choose someone we admire and then get to know them well. In this way, we carry on the human tradition of one person learning from another.
I am continuing to grow, and I can learn from the people I know now.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men©
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are interesting monologues, that is all. --Rebecca West
How often we want to be heard, to be truly listened to by our spouse, our children, friends and co-workers. And we deserve to be fully attended to. So do the other persons in our lives who come to us to be heard. We let our minds wander in the midst of important messages. And we may miss the very phrase that we need to hear--the answer to a problem, perhaps. Our minds wander, randomly, looking for a place to light, unconsciously searching for peace, the serenity.
Living fully in the present, soaking up all the responses of the life we are immersed in for the moment, is the closest we can get to our higher power. Being there--fully--is conversation with our Higher Power. How can we know all that our Higher Power intends for us to know if we don't take advantage of our Higher Power's many messages? Every moment of every day offers us information, divine information. Each time we turn our minds away to self-centered thoughts, we're refusing the chance to grow.
Action for the Day: As I come together with friends and family today, I will remember to listen for my Higher Power's message. I will hear what I need to hear if I will but listen.
Happiness
So happiness to me is fulfillment,
the satisfaction gained from knowing that you did the best
your honestly evaluated limitations would permit -- in all phases of living.
Happiness is gratitude for the miracle
which granted another go-around at a life once abandoned.
- Living Sober, p. 112
Thought to Ponder . . .
True happiness is found in the journey, not the destination.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.
Willing
It takes action to achieve, and it takes willingness to act. Be willing.
Many outside factors will push against you, and yet you can get beyond them all. But only when you’re truly willing.
What makes you act, is your choice to act. Be willing, and make that choice.
You can do, you can create, you can experience, you can become whatever you choose. Be willing, and choose to live the life that fulfills your greatest possibilities.
The challenges, problems and obstacles all pale in comparison to the strength of your will. Be willing, and exercise that strength to benefit yourself and all the world.
You can do it if you will do it. Be willing, and bring your highest vision to life.
— Ralph Marston
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