Friday, September 18, 2015
Today's Gift
I will, I will accept myself
With hope and fear and wonder
And what I have joined together
Let no man put asunder.
—Dory Preven
There is a wonderful freedom in acceptance. When we accept ourselves, with all our imperfections, we can then begin to accept others just as they are. This is especially exciting when we apply this discovery to our own families. A family is like a bouquet of flowers arranged in a common vase. Each flower is different. One might be blue, one white, one a rose, one a chrysanthemum. But each adds to the beauty of the whole bouquet and enhances the vase that holds it.
It isn't important that we know why one flower is blue and one white. We don't have to understand how a rose becomes a rose to appreciate the arrangement. We just accept it for what it is. Acceptance of others does not mean agreement or approval. How boring if we only accepted those who reflected our own ideas and opinions! How dull to look upon a bouquet of exactly the same flowers.
Today, will I accept the differences between us as part of our beauty together?
From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Who's not sat tense before his own heart's curtain? --Rainer Maria Rilke
Meeting our Higher Power and ourselves is the universal spiritual process. Sitting before the curtain of our hearts may feel as awesome to us or as frightening as anything we will ever do. When we first admit to ourselves a deeper truth, we feel these overpowering tensions. For some of us, this is a necessary step, which leads to self-knowledge and inner peace. We feel unique, different, alone, and maybe even crazy. For the first time, we are listening to our inner truth rather than outside messages.
Let's think for a moment about today's tensions and strains. Are we really aware of their source? Perhaps they are created by the disturbing honesty of our hearts? We may find our spiritual growth in yielding to the truth. When we are cynical about spiritual experience or when we minimize the importance of our soft-spoken inner wisdom, we are avoiding the truth from our hearts. And we miss the possibility of becoming strong from within.
Meeting our Higher Power and ourselves is the universal spiritual process. Sitting before the curtain of our hearts may feel as awesome to us or as frightening as anything we will ever do. When we first admit to ourselves a deeper truth, we feel these overpowering tensions. For some of us, this is a necessary step, which leads to self-knowledge and inner peace. We feel unique, different, alone, and maybe even crazy. For the first time, we are listening to our inner truth rather than outside messages.
Let's think for a moment about today's tensions and strains. Are we really aware of their source? Perhaps they are created by the disturbing honesty of our hearts? We may find our spiritual growth in yielding to the truth. When we are cynical about spiritual experience or when we minimize the importance of our soft-spoken inner wisdom, we are avoiding the truth from our hearts. And we miss the possibility of becoming strong from within.
Action for the Day: Today, I will live through the tension and fear of my honesty to reach the point of peace with myself.
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One Day At A Time
One of the most important things AA has given me, in addition to freedom from booze, is the ability to take "right action."
It says the promises will always materialize if I work for them.
Fantasizing about them, debating them, preaching about them, and faking them just won't work.
I'll remain a miserable, rationalizing dry drunk.
By taking action and working the Twelve Steps in all my affairs, I'll have a life beyond my wildest dreams
- Daily Reflections, p. 54
Thought to Ponder . . .
Right action promotes right thinking quicker than right thinking promotes right action.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Action, Belief, Continue.
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Daily Motivation
Turn it into a good thing
If you’re disappointed with yourself, with someone else, with a particular situation or just with life in general, you’re at a powerful starting point. You can channel that energy of disappointment in a positive direction and do great things with it.
Feel the disappointment, and then let it pick you up, push you forward and get you going. Suddenly you’re fifty miles down the road, well on your way to meaningful achievement.
Don’t concern yourself with what went wrong, or with whatever things you dislike. Focus your attention on a great, shining vision of how you want life to be.
Give the power of your attention to your positive goals, to your dreams and highest aspirations. Give your time and energy to making all those great things happen.
Doing something positive with your disappointment takes a lot more effort than just sulking and brooding. And yet, very quickly, it feels a whole lot better to be doing something than to just stay mired in negativity.
When life disappoints you, the best choice you have is to turn it into a good thing. In fact, decide to make it into the best thing that ever happened, and leave your disappointment far behind.
— Ralph Marston
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