Daily Motivation 10-25-10

Monday, October 25, 2010

Today's Gift

I love him and I cannot seem to find him.
  —Ovid

Where can we find the ones we love? Do they always live in our world, or do we have to go out of our way? They often are not at home; we can find them at their work. Their play is different from ours; we could try having their kind of fun.

Too often, we look only for friends who are much like ourselves, and we tend to avoid those who are not. This kind of narrow-mindedness isn't fair to others or ourselves. We are each unique, like the pieces of a puzzle. We are each necessary to the whole picture.

When we go out of our way to know someone else better, we stretch our own boundaries; we give ourselves new space in which to grow.

What part of my life can I discover in someone new today?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©

 

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple
 
Nobody give you freedom.  Malcolm X

 

We were not free. We were prisoners of our illness. What our illness wanted, we give itour dignity, our self-respect, even our families. Our prison walls were made of denial,
false pride, and self-will run riot. Now we know that brick walls don’t have to stop us. We don’t have to bang our heads on them.

Slowly, we’re learning about freedom. We’re learning that freedom. We’re learning that freedom comes from within. It comes when we think clearly and make our own choices. It comes when we follow a better way of life. It comes when we take care of ourselves. It comes when we take responsibility. The key to freedom is in loving our Higher Power.

Do you choose freedom?

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, show me how to walk away from a wall or go around it. But teach me to stop and think when I get to a wall. Maybe it’s there for my safety.

 

Today’s Action:  Today I’ll think about all the freedom I have given myself by living a sober way of life.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Courage
Before we could recognize the illness in ourselves,
we had to unload this tired old myth:
It would be a sign of shameful weakness to admit
that we couldn't handle the sauce any more (if we ever could).
Weakness? Actually, it takes considerable courage to stare unblinkingly
at the hard truth, sparing nothing, without glossing over anything,
and without kidding ourselves.
- Living Sober, p. 72

Thought to Ponder . . .
If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to succeed.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Accept, Begin, Continue.

 

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Daily Motivation

 

The masterpiece

 

You are a highly accomplished artist, creating the ongoing masterpiece of your life. It is a singularly unique work of art that comes to life more richly and more fully in your every moment.

 

The masterpiece of your life is not the same as any other, and that is what gives it much of its beauty. It is a living, breathing, feeling work of art that is a distinctive and irreplaceable expression of wonder and joy.

 

As you feel the remarkable reality of yourself, always remember that you transcend every label that could ever be placed on you. Though there are many ways you have been, there are countless other ways that you can yet be.

 

You are not old or young, not wealthy or poor, not healthy or ill, for those are all merely outward states that you may choose to experience. In fact, you are life itself, and every experience adds to the value and richness.

 

Just as the darker areas of a painting and the lighter areas play off each other, so too do the varieties of your experience all add to the masterpiece of your life. With each new day, the masterpiece becomes more magnificent.

 

In this moment, work your art well, letting it flow from your authentic heart. Give your spirit cause to soar, and forever capture the unique beauty of now within the masterpiece that is your life.

 

-- Ralph Marston