Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Today's Gift
I wish I hadn't lost track of the guys I was stationed with. I kick myself for that. --Tom Harding
We all have regrets, don't we? Some of us left jobs or spouses or neighborhoods only to wish we hadn't. Perhaps we closed the door on our family of origin and then felt grief when parents or siblings died. More commonly we regret the instances when our mean spirited behavior or attitude hurt someone else. We weren't always honest and forthright; we didn't always try to help a family member, friend or co-worker who needed our advice. We simply didn't put our best self forward when the opportunities for doing so presented themselves.
Dwelling on the "shoulds" of past years is fruitless. We did the best we knew how to do at the time. The past is gone. Let's quit digging up the bones of old regrettable experiences. All they do is cloud our minds when we're trying to respond to today's opportunities.
I won't have anything to regret tomorrow if I respond to today with my best self.
From the book Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
The universal human yearning [is] for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change. --Willa Cather
The specter of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us comes with our trust in our Higher Power, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth-enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Action for the Day: I will remember, "Change means I am progressing, on course."
Peace of Mind
We have gained some measure of release
from some of our more devastating handicaps.
To those of us who have, until now, known only excitement, depression,
or anxiety -- in other words, to all of us --
this newfound peace is a priceless gift.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 74
Thought to Ponder . . .
Happiness and peace of mind are always here,
open and free to anyone.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O P E = Hang On! Peace Exists.
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Daily Motivation
What truly matters
If the distractions are too compelling, then your goal is too small. To strengthen your focus, raise your ambitions.
Make your purpose ten times more appealing than anything that could distract you. Make your goal so meaningful and compelling that nothing can compete with it for your time and attention.
You absolutely have the power to do great things. Yet in order for that power to be effective, it must be applied consistently and persistently.
Decide to make good and significant use of your great abilities. Focus yourself, in the biggest way you can imagine, on what is genuinely important.
Give yourself the joy of fulfillment by giving yourself a big, bold challenge that’s worthy of your efforts. Set your sights high, and make your moments count for something truly outstanding.
The world is overflowing with meaningless distractions, and yet they do not have to steal your life away. You can choose to focus your life on a magnificent expression of what truly matters.
— Ralph Marston
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