I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome. —Golda Meir
Living a principled life is what the inner self desires. It's what our Higher Power desires. And it's what the healthier ego desires. Living the program's principles is giving each of us practice in living a principled life, one that is free of guilt for our shortcomings.
Having principles assures direction. We need not ponder long how to proceed in any situation, what decision to make regarding any matter, when we are guided by principles. They offer us completeness. They help us define who we are and who we will be, in any turn of events.
As someone in recovery, we have struggled with self-definition. Often we were as others defined us, or we merely imitated those close by. Sometimes we may slip into old behavior and lose sight of who we are and how we want to live. It's then that the program's principles come immediately to our aid.
There is no doubt about how today should be lived. I will do it with confidence and joy.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey©
Honesty is the backbone of our recovery program. Honesty opens us up.
It breaks down the walls we had built around our secret world. Those walls
made a prison for us. But all of that is now changed. We are free.
Honesty has made us wise. We aren’t sneaking drinks anymore. We don’t
have a stash to protect.
People who didn’t trust us now depend on our honesty. People who worked
hard to avoid us, now seek us out. Self-honesty is the greatest gift we can
give ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You are truth. I pray that I may not turn
away from truth. I will not lie. My life depends on honesty.
learning to be honest has changed my life.
Housecleaning
Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves
certain facts about their lives.
Trying to avoid this humbling experience, they have turned to easier methods.
Almost invariably they got drunk.
Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell.
We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning.
They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 72-3
Thought to Ponder . . .
I cannot mend if I bend the truth.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
N O W = No Other Way.
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Daily Motivation
As desirable as it may be, success usually serves to confirm what you already know. Failure, on the other hand, teaches you something new and valuable.
Failure is painful, and that makes its positive lessons all the more memorable. And failure never has to be final, because of how it teaches you to succeed.
Though you wouldn’t want to seek failure, you don’t want to fear it either. It is by living with the possibility of failure, and by learning from the experience of failure, that you develop the strength to achieve.
Go ahead, step forward, and give your very best to the effort. Live and act with the genuine confidence of knowing that even when you fail you’re making positive progress.
When you’re willing to learn and to adjust, failure cannot keep holding you back. When the goal is clear and the purpose is truly yours, you’ll find a way to make it happen.
Even when you fail, it won’t be for long. Keep that in mind, and have the courage to do what you must do to live the most outstanding life you know you can live.
— Ralph Marston
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