Patience
Sometimes we get what we want right away. At other times, we wonder if our desires will ever be fulfilled.
We will be fulfilled in the best way possible and as quickly as possible. But some things take time. Sometimes, we have lessons to learn first, lessons that prepare us so we can accept the good we deserve. Things are being worked out in us, and in others. Blocks in us are being removed. A solid foundation is being laid.
Be patient, Relax and trust. Let go. Then, let go some more. Good things are planned for us. We will receive them at the first available moment. We will have all our heart longs for. Relax and trust.
Today, I will identify what I want and need; then, I'll be willing to let go of it. I will devote my energy to living my life today, so I may master my lessons as quickly as possible. I will trust that what I want and need is coming to me. I will let go of my need to control the details.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990,
… except when to do so would injure them or others.
---Second half of Step Nine
We have to be careful when we make amends. We must think about people’s well being. Can we help heal by being direct with them? Or would it hurt them again? At times, this means not making direct amends. Sometimes, it’s better to make some other kind of amend. If you’re not sure how to make amends to someone, ask for advice from your sponsor and your group. And pray. Over time, you’ll know if making direct amends is the right thing to do. Remember, Step Nine means we’re responsible for our actions. In recovery, our actions can be healing. Healing takes place when we love ourselves and others. And love is what heals us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I’ve hurt people in the past. Please use me now to help those people heal. Give me good judgment, courage, and good timing.
Action for the Day: I will never be able to make direct amends to some people. I will think of amends I can make to them. I can pray daily for their healing.
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us
what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not.
They are being fulfilled among us -- sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 84
Thought to Ponder . . .
If I don't drink today, I have the hope of a tomorrow.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S I T = Stay In Today.
A MEMBER SHARES:
I'm Peyton and I'm a grateful alcoholic. During my active alcoholism, I was always living in the problem. It didn't matter what it was (or wasn't), I could blow it into major proportions. Molehills truly became mountains with the way I thought and behaved. That's simply because I didn't know any other way to live. I was an active alcoholic, and I thought like one. I really didn't know what to expect when I came to AA. I was just praying for some kind of help to stop drinking. And you said if I was willing to go to any lengths, I could do it, and you all would show me how. The 'how' of the program is the Steps and I was guided through them with my sponsor. They weren't something I could do on my own, because like any good active alcoholic, I'd twist them to fit the way I wanted to or skip the ones I didn't want to do. And I also was afraid because how in the world was I going to stop drinking for the rest of my life? Then you all said, "Stay in today. Don't drink just for today. Don't worry about tomorrow, we all stay sober the same way -- one day at a time." I thought, "OK that works for today, but what about tomorrow?" Tomorrow came and turned into today. And that was so much easier to deal with than thinking about not drinking for a week, a month, or a year. Living in the solution helps me to keep those molehills from turning into mountains. It keeps me in today which is where I need to be, in everything in my life. When I've been able to, I've reached out and tried to help another, even if it was just to say hi, smile and give a hug. I'm so grateful and so blessed to have been led to AA, my HP and all of you. Thanks for allowing me to share.
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Daily Motivation
Determined enough
You deserve the very best achievement of which you're capable. The challenges and setbacks and disappointments are there to make you determined enough to get it.
When it absolutely seems like there's no way forward, keep going. There's a way.
If you're not getting the results you expected, see it as an opportunity to experiment with other approaches. You'll likely find something that works even better than you could have imagined.
Eventually you'll look back on all the challenges and be thankful for them. You'll realize that the strength and effectiveness gained in working through those challenges added great value to the whole undertaking.
You won't avoid all the setbacks, but then you really wouldn't want to. For you can choose to take them all in stride and let them make you that much stronger, that much more determined, and that much more successful.
Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, feel inspired about yourself. After all, you had the courage to get started in the first place and you have the determination to keep going no matter what.
-- Ralph Marston
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