Daily Motivation 11-30-2012

Friday, November 30, 2011

Today's Gift

 

God gave burdens, also shoulders. --Yiddish proverb

 

Some days we wake up, and we know we can't get out of bed. We lie there, trying to force ourselves, but none of the usual motivations work. We may be depressed, we may be grieving, or we may simply be tired. It's hard to resist the temptation to believe that everyone else is functioning with ease. They all show up for work. What's wrong with me? The more frantic we become, the more likely we may lapse into old ways of thinking and behaving in order to get moving.

 

If we feel we can't get out of bed, there's usually a good reason why. We can give ourselves permission to discover it. By being honest, we will discover how to take care of ourselves. Maybe it's a day to stop and nurture ourselves, not force ourselves to keep going. Only we know what we really need. We do not have to compare ourselves to others or apologize for what we are going through. Instead, we can be gentle, giving our bodies, emotions, and spirits what they require. We can turn the day over to our Higher Power's will.

 

I pray for the willingness to make this a day of healing. I will be part of my own renewal.

 

From the book Answers in the Heart by Anonymous

 

 

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

Life is not lost by dying; life is lost by minute, day by day, in all the thousands, small, uncaring ways.--- Stephen V. Benet

Twelve Step programs promise us a new way of life. But most of us won’t just wake up one day with a new attitude. We only gain this new way of life if we get involved.

The Twelve Step are tools to build a new life. The more we use a tool, the easier it is to use. The same goes for the Twelve Steps, just as carpenters depend on their tools. If we only wait for the new way of life, it’ll never come. The quicker we get involved, the quicker we’ll get fixed.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me get involved. Help me build a new way of life.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for ways to use the Twelve Steps. If I have a problem, I’ll first stop and think of how the Twelve Steps can help me solve it.

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One Day At A Time

Values
When I came into AA, if anyone had told me that I would believe what I now believe,
I think I would have shot him. How did the change happen?
After joining AA, I had complete faith in everything AA said or stood for.
I could see results all around me, and, as time went on,
I could see what AA was doing for me.
Now, as I look back, I realize that AA was teaching me
spiritual values without using religious words.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 176

Thought to Ponder . . .
I saw, I felt, I believed.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief,-Change.

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Daily Motivation

Beyond your needs

Don’t let yourself be held back by what you think you need. Go ahead and do all you can with what you have.

Sure, it might be nice to be further along on the road. Yet you are where you are, so go ahead and start moving ahead.

What you see as a need is probably just an excuse. Instead of waiting for your needs to be met, go ahead and do all you can without them.

Don’t let your focus on your needs blind you to your possibilities. Focus not on what you want to get away from, but on where you truly wish to go.

There’s more than one way to get there. If one path is blocked, get creative.

Stop obsessing over the needs and excuses, and start taking effective action. Go beyond your needs, and create the real fulfillment of which you are most certainly capable.

— Ralph Marston