Daily Motivation 7-4-2012

Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Today's Gift

Today in the United States; we celebrate our nation's independence. Why not take a moment to celebrate your independence as well? --Melody Beattie

Take time to celebrate. Celebrate your freedom

Celebrate your successes, your growth, and your accomplishments. Celebrate you and who you are. You've discovered the freedom to live your life as fully as possible, take a moment to honor and acknowledge how much that freedom means to you.

For too long you have been too hard on yourself. Others have spilled their negative energy - their attitudes, beliefs, and pain - on you. It had nothing to do with you! All along, you have been a gift to yourself and to the Universe.

You are a child of God. Beautiful, a delight, a joy. You do not have to try harder, be better, be perfect, or be anything you are not. Your beauty is in you, just as you are each moment.

Celebrate that.

When you have a success, when you accomplish something, enjoy it. Pause, reflect, and rejoice. Too long you have listened to admonitions not to feel good about what you have done, lest you travel the downward road to arrogance.

To enjoy and celebrate the good does not mean that it will be taken from you. To celebrate is to delight in the gift, to show gratitude.

Celebrate your relationships! Celebrate the lessons from the past and the love and warmth that are there today. Enjoy the beauty of others and their connection to you.

Celebrate all that is in your life. Celebrate all that is good. Celebrate you!

Today, I will indulge in the joy of celebrating.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

 

One doesn't recognize in one's life the really important moments--not until it's too late. --Agatha Christie

Every moment is special and offers us an opportunity--to let an experience change us in an important way, to invite another person into our life, to nurture the growing, changing woman within. Life's events move so rapidly we seldom relish the moments individually, but each day teems with tiny gifts divinely designed for our well-being. The woman smiled at in the grocery store yesterday or the man acknowledged on the bus last week felt special. And we were softened, too, by our expression.

We change, and we change our world when we acknowledge one another's presence in it. The wonderful reality is that we are in another's world because of the special qualities we each have and are able to share with one another.

For many of us, in times past, no moment felt important. The days were simply long and painful. But now, we can relish even the past pain for what it taught us. We know now that we can look to this day before us with expectation. We can be conscious of every moment, thankful for every experience and every person we encounter.

Action for the Day: In this inner game of life, I share the court, and I will have my turn to serve. To really live, I must participate fully.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Firecrackers!
When we first go into AA we are firecrackers with short wicks
and when those short wicks get lighted with resentment or self-pity
or any of the things that cause us to go off on a tangent,
it doesn't take long before we explode.
The longer we go to meetings, the longer the wick becomes.
- Thank You For Sharing, p. 61

Thought to Ponder . . .
The Three "P's" -- Pause, Pray, Proceed.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Altered Attitudes.

 

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Daily Motivation

Leave the stress behind

Much of what is stressful to you is what you've decided is stressful. What if you decided differently?

Feeling stressed in certain situations, or with certain tasks, or with certain people, is not a foregone conclusion. Rather, it's a way you choose to respond.

Sure, many things in life will challenge you greatly. Yet instead of letting those challenges get to you and make you stressful, you can choose a more powerful, effective response.

Instead of seeing yourself as fighting against the challenges, you can see yourself as thriving on them, and even enjoying them. Even when people and situations are extremely difficult, you can find great fulfillment in calmly working through them.

You can let others be stressed and angry and frustrated. All the while, you can choose to be peaceful and productive.

Life's difficulties don't have to bring you down, because you have what it takes to lovingly and purposefully deal with them. Choose to respond with a positive perspective, and leave the stress behind.

— Ralph Marston