Monday, October 16, 2017
Today's Gift
When we're selfish, we close off the channels of exchange with others. Not only are we grabbing and holding all the goods or attention we can get, but we are denying others the possibility of sharing with us in the benefits. We may be selfish in material goods, but there are many other ways too. Some of us expect our spouses to meet our needs while we make little effort to meet theirs. Some of us discover our selfishness as we drive, refusing to yield a position to another car or getting furious if we lose a place in heavy traffic.
By contrast, our generosity and welcoming responses nourish the spirit within us and create a good environment for our growth. Sometimes giving does not come easily. We have a more generous spirit when we are in touch with our ultimate vulnerability. All of life is fragile, and we need each other to have a good life. We can truly hold onto nothing but ourselves. Giving what we can of our time, our energy, and our goods, helps create the kind of world we want to live in.
Action for the Day: Today, I will look for ways to be generous with those I share this world with.
The Root
Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity,
we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us,
seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past
we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 62
Thought to Ponder
The smallest package in the world is a person all wrapped up in themself.
AA-related 'Alconym'
W I S D O M = When Into Self, Discover Our Motives
Best thing to do
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.... --Antoine de Saint Exupery
If we look at the world through suspicious or angry eyes, we'll find a world that mirrors our expectations -- a world where tension will mount, arguments will abound, strife will be present where none need be. However, our experiences in some manner bless us, and we'll recognize that if we look upon them with gratitude. Everything in our path is meant for our good and we'll see the good when our hearts act as the eyes for our minds.
When we see with our hearts, our responses to the turmoil around us, the fighting children, the traffic snarls, the angry lovers, will be soft acceptance.
When our hearts guide the action we can accept those things we cannot change, and change those we can. And the heart, as the seat of all wisdom, will always know the difference.
From the book Worthy of Love by Karen Casey. ©
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
No person is more cheated than the selfish one. --Henry Ward Beecher
No person is more cheated than the selfish one. --Henry Ward Beecher
When we're selfish, we close off the channels of exchange with others. Not only are we grabbing and holding all the goods or attention we can get, but we are denying others the possibility of sharing with us in the benefits. We may be selfish in material goods, but there are many other ways too. Some of us expect our spouses to meet our needs while we make little effort to meet theirs. Some of us discover our selfishness as we drive, refusing to yield a position to another car or getting furious if we lose a place in heavy traffic.
By contrast, our generosity and welcoming responses nourish the spirit within us and create a good environment for our growth. Sometimes giving does not come easily. We have a more generous spirit when we are in touch with our ultimate vulnerability. All of life is fragile, and we need each other to have a good life. We can truly hold onto nothing but ourselves. Giving what we can of our time, our energy, and our goods, helps create the kind of world we want to live in.
Action for the Day: Today, I will look for ways to be generous with those I share this world with.
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 Root
Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity,
we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us,
seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past
we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 62
Thought to Ponder
The smallest package in the world is a person all wrapped up in themself.
AA-related 'Alconym'
W I S D O M = When Into Self, Discover Our Motives
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Best thing to do
by Ralph Marston
There is at least one person who benefits greatly when you do the right thing. That person is you.
Whether or not you are noticed, appreciated, recognized or thanked by others, do the right thing. Because you’ll notice, you’ll know, you’ll continue to live with yourself and your choices.
Your image of yourself is an accumulation of everything you observe yourself doing. Each action influences your confidence in your values and in yourself.
Often, doing what’s right is not the most convenient or expedient choice. That’s especially true if you know that no one is watching.
Yet doing what’s right, what’s good, what affirms life, is the best thing to do. It’s the best choice for you, for your world, for all of life.
Even if no one else ever knows, do something that genuinely feels good, something that creates goodness. Do what you know is good, what you know is right.
There is at least one person who benefits greatly when you do the right thing. That person is you.
Whether or not you are noticed, appreciated, recognized or thanked by others, do the right thing. Because you’ll notice, you’ll know, you’ll continue to live with yourself and your choices.
Your image of yourself is an accumulation of everything you observe yourself doing. Each action influences your confidence in your values and in yourself.
Often, doing what’s right is not the most convenient or expedient choice. That’s especially true if you know that no one is watching.
Yet doing what’s right, what’s good, what affirms life, is the best thing to do. It’s the best choice for you, for your world, for all of life.
Even if no one else ever knows, do something that genuinely feels good, something that creates goodness. Do what you know is good, what you know is right.
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