Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Today's Gift
Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where they are had to begin where they were. —R. L. Evans
Feelings of discouragement are to be expected as part of life. We will have our times of greater energy and hope and our times of feeling depleted and lost. As we mature we learn to see many peaks and valleys across the landscape.
Giving ourselves over to feelings of discouragement is self-indulgent and saps our strength. We cannot see into the future. The dailiness of our lives isn't always dramatic and doesn't usually offer great changes. But we are part of an unfolding process. Looking back over just a week or a month, we can recall troubled times that now seem insignificant. We see other' people and their progress, and we know they too grew just one day at a time and couldn't see what the future would bring them. So we continue - knowing that our process is hopeful - even though we cannot foresee the details of our future.
I have the strength to live through the peaks and valleys and to stay faithful to my growth.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
There's so much to do before we rest . . . so much to do. We each are gifted with talents, similar in some respects to others' talents, but unique in how we'll be able to use them. Do we realize our talents? We need only to dare to dream, and there they'll be.
It's so easy to fall into the trap of self-pity, thinking we have no purpose, fearing we'll take life nowhere, dreading others' expectations of us. But we can turn our thinking around at any moment. The choice is ours. We can simply decide to discover our talents, and nurture them and enrich the lives of others. The benefits will be many. So will the joys.
We have a very important part to play, today, in the lives we touch. We can expect adventure, and we'll find it. We can look for our purpose; it's at hand. We can remember, we aren't alone. We are in partnership every moment. Our talents are God-given, and guidance for their full use is part of the gift.
Action for the Day: I will have a dream today. In my dream is my direction.
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One Day At A Time
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in the Universe by mistake.
Until I could accept my dysfunctions, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417
Thought to Ponder . . .
My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.
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Daily Motivation
In this moment, on this day, is a whole world of possibilities. Grab on to the good ones, the ones that enrich all of life, and let them unfold through your efforts.
The energy of life surrounds you and flows through you. Give it a positive, purposeful direction.
There is beauty to be seen, to be loved, and more beauty to be created from it. There are ideas to be explored, experiences to be lived, lives to be lifted up, and value to be created.
Fly right on past all the petty, superficial concerns. You have important, fulfilling work to do.
You can learn, you can teach, you can love, encourage, build and improve. You can generously and respectfully offer your own perspective and your own efforts to a world that is rich in its potential.
There are lots of good things to be done, and today is your day to do them. Filled with love for life and its great possibilities, give it your best.
— Ralph Marston
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