Monday, December 21, 2015
Today's Gift
Every Christmas I hope for the best but expect the worst. -Adult child group member
As bells ring out and carols echo everywhere, we should not be surprised if our spirits take a nosedive. It isn't that we don't understand the meaning of Christmas, or that we reject it, but rather that the idealized version of what Christmas should be has often times been denied us. We may come to resent the fact that all this good cheer seems to be for other people, not us.
Our experiences may have had little to do with family togetherness around a glowing fireplace, loving conversation, and delighted laughter. Such scenes feel like an affront if there has been no family closeness, perhaps no gifts, and little or no overt love. Of course it's wrenching when our own experience clashes so painfully with advertised reality!
But every day is a chance for new experience. We can choose today to create the good cheer that wasn't created for us. It's too late to change yesterday's disappointment, but, if we choose, we can make this holiday season the one we'll remember.
I have made a conscious decision to leave past Christmases in the past. Today, I will begin to plan a celebration.
From the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. ©
From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
We have been given the gift of life. Our recovery validates that fact. Our pleasure with that gift is best expressed by the fullness with which we greet and live life. We need not back off from the invitations our experiences offer. Each one of them gives us a chance, a bit different from all other chances, to fulfill part of our purpose in the lives of others.
It has been said that the most prayerful life is the one most actively lived. Full encounter with each moment is evidence of our trust in the now and thus our trust in our higher power. When we fear what may come or worry over what has gone before, we're not trusting in God. Growth in the program will help us remember that fact, thus releasing us to participate more actively in the special circumstances of our lives.
When we look around us today, we know that the persons in our midst need our best, and they're not there by accident but by Divine appointment. We can offer them the best we have--acceptance, love, support, our prayers, and we can know that is our Higher Power's plan for our lives and theirs.
Action for the Day: I will celebrate my opportunities for goodness today. They'll bless me in turn.
From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums
Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2
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One Day At A Time
The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution.
We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree,
and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17
Thought to Ponder . . .
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.
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Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
See the best
by Ralph Marston
There is a world that you will soon come to know. There is a life that you will soon begin to live. There is a person whom you will one day become, and that day is fast approaching. Can you see it in your mind?
Yes, you can see it even now. For the things you most consistently visualize today are what will define your reality tomorrow. Where your most sincere and abiding thoughts are now is where the rest of you will soon be. Whatever you can see most intensely in your mind’s eye, you are already beginning to become.
The choice you have is not whether to visualize, but what to visualize. For you are always visualizing something. So choose to see the best, in clear and rich detail. And let your most positive, brilliant vision guide you steadily there.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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