Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Today's Gift
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Before the rain stops we hear a bird. Even under the heavy snow we see snowdrops and some new growth. —Shunryu Suzuki
The signals that new growth is underway are often very small at first. It's sometimes discouraging when we are trying to remake our lives and all we can see for our efforts is minor growth. That is how the natural world works, and we are part of this world. When the little sprouts of growth first develop under the snow in spring we don't even see them unless we search. Yet, they signal the beginnings of a total transformation. Time will bring vast changes, but only little signs are showing first.
Today, we may search for signs of progress in our lives. The little things we see may signal bigger transformations yet to come. To be true to them in the long run we must accept them - even welcome them - as they are today.
I will notice the subtle movements toward health and renewal in my life. Welcoming them will encourage them.
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 farmer may only be planting a seed, but if he opens his eyes he is feeding the whole world. --Omaha Bee
A traveler journeying through a small village came upon some workers building an impressive structure. "What are you doing?" he asked. The first worker, a young, impatient man, replied in disgust, "I am making three dollars an hour and I'm getting very tired!" The visitor asked another man the same question. "I'm mixing concrete, as you can plainly see," came the sarcastic reply. Finally, a woman working nearby left her wheelbarrow full of bricks and approached the stranger. "We are building a hospital," she said with pride. "Now we will be able to care for all the region's people. Babies will be born here. Lives will be saved."
The stranger looked at the woman with admiration and spoke directly to her. "I know, for this is my hospital. Only you hold the vision of what it is you are creating." The wealthy benefactor then put the woman in charge of construction so his hospital would be built by one who truly understood.
Action for the Day: I will see the importance of even the small things I do today.
From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums
Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2
One Day At A Time
Purpose
This latest part of my life has had a purpose, not in great things accomplished, but in daily living.
Courage to face each day has replaced the fears and uncertainties of earlier years.
Acceptance of things as they are has replaced the old impatient chomping at the bit to conquer the world.
I have stopped tilting at windmills and, instead, have tried to accomplish the little daily tasks, unimportant in themselves, but tasks that are an integral part of living fully.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 266
Thought to Ponder . . .
Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
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Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
The effort of the journey
by Ralph Marston
The life you desire to live is precisely one step away. Once you take that step, with your initial action you are beginning to live that life.
The essence of fulfillment is in the direction and in the process, not just in the ultimate reward. The substance of life is in the living, from moment to moment, toward the goals you have chosen.
Think of how terribly empty it would be to always get what you want without the opportunity to look forward to it. Without the time and effort of the journey, you cannot fully enjoy the destination.
If you were to have it all now, you would be cheated out of the rich joy of anticipation. Fortunately, you cannot have it all now so you can indeed anticipate to your heart’s delight.
Step forward toward whatever you treasure, and you’ll begin to live the reality of what you treasure. Keep going, and enjoy every bit of value as you work to build it day by day.
You can’t get all the way there all at once, and that is truly a blessing. Because it is in the effort of the journey that you can truly appreciate and enjoy the reward of the destination.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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