Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Today's Gift
From the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. ©
What I said never changed anybody; what they understood did. --Paul. P.
How often have we given our all to change somebody else? How frantically have we tried to force a loved one to see the light? How hopelessly have we watched a destructive pattern - perhaps a pattern we know well from personal experience - bring terrible pain to someone who is dear to us?
All of us have.
We would do anything to save the people we love. In our desperation, we imagine that if we say just the right words in just the right way, our loved ones will understand.
If change happens, we think our efforts have succeeded.
If change doesn't happen, we think our efforts have failed. But neither is true. Even our best efforts don't have the power to change someone else. Nor do we have that responsibility. People are only persuaded by what they understand. And they, as we, can understand a deeper truth only when it is their time to grow toward deeper understanding. Not before.
Today, I will focus on changing myself and entrust those I love to the Higher Power who loves them even more than I do.
From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day
********************************
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
How should one live? Live welcoming to all. --Mechtild of Magdeburg
How should one live? Live welcoming to all. --Mechtild of Magdeburg
Welcoming is a spiritual practice we met when we came to this program. We may recall our first meetings and how welcome we felt in this group of fellow sufferers. It gave us hope when we felt desperate and continues to provide us with a nourishing place to grow.
To be welcoming means to accept others as they are, without passing judgment on their worth. It means to encourage them when they are despairing and to accept that they have a rightful place in our world. Welcoming is being generous with our resources. We do not have to feel close to someone to be welcoming. We can welcome a stranger. As we practice this attitude toward others, regardless of their status in life, regardless of their good or bad actions, we are changed inside. We learn from the people we welcome, and we are reminded that in the sight of our Higher Power we are all loved as equals.
Action for the Day: Today, 1 will practice a welcoming attitude toward everyone I meet.
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
Practice
I believe the most important word in AA is “practice.”
Our Twelfth Step says we must “practice these principles in all our affairs.”
For me that means all my affairs—even when there’s nobody around to see me doing it.
And it means action. I can talk about practice for the rest of my life,
but if I don’t practice practice, nothing changes.
- Thank You For Sharing, p. 182
Thought to Ponder . . .
Never mistake motion for action.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
B A T H = Balance, Action, Thinking, Habits
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
***************************
Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Do what is best
by Ralph Marston
What do you do when you feel like nothing you do is appreciated? Continue with what you know is best, for even when no one else seems to care, it matters that you care.
Don’t let anyone steal your values or your self esteem. Do what you know is best, no matter what response you get.
If you think no one notices, you’re mistaken. You notice, and that makes an enormous difference.
The purpose of doing good is not to look good, not to impress anyone. Do what is right because it is right, and feel the inner peace, the inner strength it brings.
Ultimately, integrity wins. Truth and goodness cannot be denied for long.
Do what is best, but not for show. Do what is right, what is best, because your precious life deserves nothing less from you.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment