Monday, March 14, 2016
Today's Gift
I always entertain great hopes. --Robert Frost
In our honest journey, we must admit life is often difficult and painful. But these facts do not describe all of life, and they do not determine how we respond. The sun rises warm and bright after a cold and dark night. The open, generous smile of a small child reaches into the soft part of us all. To be strong and hardy on our spiritual path, we must be truthful about the pain and unfairness in life while holding firmly to a belief in all the generous possibilities.
Surrendering to despair, we trade the uncertainty of options for the certainty of gloom. Then we might say, "At least I'm never disappointed this way." Life isn't filled only with difficulty and pain. It is also filled with people whose dignity and spirit rise above their circumstances. There are situations when great sacrifice or love and wisdom turn a problem into an opportunity and strength. If we look at what has happened in our own lives and in those of others, we have ample reason to hope.
My own experience in life gives me great hope in what can be.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©
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
The child is an almost universal symbol for the soul's transformation. The child is whole, not yet divided. . .when we would heal the mind. . .we ask this child to speak to us. --Susan Griffin
Was there ever a time when we did not feel divided from ourselves? Occasionally we get a glimpse of what such spiritual wholeness would be like, but most of the time we struggle with feelings of conflict, unevenness, a divided heart. Perhaps, "the child" is a metaphor for a spiritual guide, like our own higher power, that can help us in our journey toward self-acceptance.
"I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent," writes author Ashleigh Brilliant. If we can be happy with this proud, funny boast then perhaps we can stop berating ourselves for our imperfections. If we dwell on our own contradictory impulses, we give them too much important, too much power.
Action for the Day: Let me trust to my glimpses of harmony and wholeness and be grateful for the richness of my spirit.
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
Self-pity
"Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know.
It is a bar to all spiritual progress and can cut off all effective communication with our fellows because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy.
It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford."
- As Bill Sees It, p. 238
Thought to Ponder . . .
Self-pity is followed by isolation is followed by a relapse.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
P L O M = Poor Little Old Me.
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html
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Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
You hold the power
by Ralph Marston
You hold the power to reach whatever you seek. You possess the ability to live the life you envision.
Today, make use of that power. Today, engage that ability.
It can be easy to feel like events beyond your control are holding you back, pushing you down. But deep inside, you know that’s not the case, and you know there’s much more you can do.
Yes, the challenges are formidable. And yes, you can work your way through each one.
Though many factors are beyond your control, you choose your own attitude, thoughts and actions, every moment of every day. In those choices you’ll find the power to move life in whatever direction you wish.
Right now, exercise your power, make a difference, then do it again and again. You deserve the best life imaginable, so do what you know you can do, and create it.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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