The Work-In: Daily Motivation 4-29-2016

Friday, April 29, 2016

Today's Gift

Accustomed as we are to change, or unaccustomed, we think of a change of heart, of clothes, of life, with some uncertainty. --Josephine Miles

Being used to a situation, even a painful one, carries with it a level of comfort. Moving away from the pain, changing the situation, be it job, home, or marriage, takes courage and support from other persons. But even more it takes faith that the change will benefit us. For most of us, the pain will need to worsen.

In retrospect, we wonder why it took us so long. We forget, from one instance to the next, that a new door cannot open until we've closed one behind us. The more important fact is that a new one will always open without fail. The pain of the old experience is trying to push us to new challenges, new opportunities, new growth. We can handle the change; we can handle the growth. We are never given more than we can handle, and we are always given just what we need.

Experience can't prepare us for the ramifications of a new change. But our trust in friends, and our faith in the spiritual process of life, can and will see us through whatever comes.

If a change of any kind is facing me today, I will know that I am not alone. Whatever I am facing is right for me and necessary to my well-being. Life is growth. The next stage of my life awaits me.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey ©

From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

When you want to be something, it means you really love it.---Andy Warhol

At times, we turned to chemicals because we couldn't love ourselves. Our addiction gave a promise of relief, but it gave us self-hate. We wanted to love, but couldn't. What is it we really love ? Where should we put out energy ? In raising children ? In creating art ? In helping addicts who still suffer ? There's much in this world that needs our love. We can be many things in our lives. Let's be people we believe in. Let's be people we can love.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know myself through my inventories. My skills, talents, values, and my loves must be clear to me so I can use them to do Your will.

Action for the Day: Today I'll think about what I'd really love to do through my work.

From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

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One Day At A Time

Anonymity

The entire future of our fellowship hangs upon this vital principle.

If we continue to be filled with the spirit and practice of anonymity, no shoal or reef can wreck us.

If we forget this principle, the lid to Pandora's box will be off and the spirits of Money, Power, and Prestige will be loosed among us.

Obsessed by these evil genii, we might well founder and break up. I devoutly believe this will never happen.

- Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 131

Thought to Ponder . . .

Anonymity is real humility at work.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

A A = Adventurers Anonymous.

From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)

http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html

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Daily Motivation

Excerpt of The Daily Motivator

Dance of possibilities

by Ralph Marston

Now, allow peace to permeate your awareness. With no need for judgment, free from every worry and concern, join in the dance of possibilities.

Feel waves of positive energy as they cascade into this time and place. Let visions of all the goodness, love and fulfillment you can create gently glide through your awareness.

Envelop every thought, every feeling in a soft blanket of love. Observe and be endlessly thankful for all you see from your empowered perspective.

Joyfully let your every action be worthy of the positive, creative person you are. Delight at how effective those actions can be when they are guided by loving intention.

Embrace and appreciate the beauty that’s always right in front of you. Feel a sense of clarity and purpose as your spirit is refreshed.

Your new, empowered moment is born. Give yourself over to the dance of possibilities and live the wonder you love so much.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 4-28-2016

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Today's Gift

You can feel only your own feelings, not another person's. --Elisabeth L.

Having empathy for those we love, and being able to share their joys and sorrows, is part of our nature as warm, caring human beings. Taken to an extreme, however, too much empathy can mean that we lose our boundaries as emotionally separate individuals. When that happens, nobody wins.

We're responsible for our own feelings. If we're too deeply involved in another person's emotional state, we may not be truly aware of our own feelings. If we take on someone else's response to a situation, we lose our own in the process.

In any situation, particularly one that is highly charged with negative emotions, we need to maintain a sense of self. If we allow ourselves to be swept up in the anger, fear, grief, or despair of someone close to us, we become less capable of giving help and support. Emotional maturity is one of the goals of recovery. We progress toward it as we differentiate how we feel from how another person appears to feel.

I can respect the feelings of others without making them my own.

From the book Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L. ©

From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

. . . suffering . . . no matter how multiplied . . . is always individual. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Knowing that others have survived experiences equally devastating gives us hope, but it doesn't diminish our own personal suffering. Nor should it; out of suffering comes new understanding. Suffering also encourages our appreciation of the lighter, easier times. Pain experienced fully enhances the times of pleasure.

Our sufferings are singular, individual, and lonely. But our experiences with it can be shared, thereby lessening the power they have over us. Sharing our pain with another woman also helps her remember that her pain, too, is survivable.

Suffering softens us, helps us to feel more compassion and love toward another. Our sense of belonging to the human race, our recognition of the interdependence and kinship of us all, are the most cherished results of the gift of pain.

Action for the Day: Each of our sufferings, sharing them as we do, strengthens me and heals my wounds of alienation.

From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

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One Day At A Time

Dedication

Early in my AA life, I asked myself how I could express my gratitude.

The answer was simple: by dedicating my life to AA and its people.

I found out that the more I know about AA, the more effectively I could carry the message.

The more I know about AA -- from the bottom up and the top down, across its scope world-wide -- the more I love it.

And the more I love it, the better equipped I am to carry the message.

- The AA Service Manual, p. S76

Thought to Ponder . . .

That light at the end of the tunnel may be you.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

A A's - R - U S = Alcoholics Anonymous - Recovery, Unity, Service.

From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)

http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html

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Daily Motivation

Excerpt of The Daily Motivator

The ordinary moments

by Ralph Marston

Life does not have to be glamorous or spectacular in order to be filled with richness. The very best moments are, more often than not, the ordinary moments.

It is not really what surrounds you or what happens to you that makes life good. It is what you do with it. Some people can be miserable even in the most exciting, opulent surroundings. And others can find true magic, wonder and richness in even the most common, ordinary circumstances.

Where you are right now is a great and wonderful place to be. Know that there are real miracles in this very moment and they will be yours to live.

If your happiness depends on some outside factor, then even if you attain it, you’ll be disappointed by the sense of emptiness it brings. And you’ll feel the need for something more.

That something more has been there all along and is, when you choose it, unconditionally yours. Find your joy in the ordinary moments and experience how beautifully rich and fulfilling life can be.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 4-27-2016

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Today's Gift

The person who is bored in the modern world shows that he is in no full sense a member of it. --Brand Blanshard

Enthusiasm doesn't just happen to us. It's an attitude that is either fostered or hindered by our decisions about what we'll bring to our experiences from the most mundane to the momentous. This is true either throughout the day at hand or throughout our life. Deciding to be enthusiastic for a project comes easily when we've made up our mind to simply enjoy being alive.

Gratitude for the many blessings that life has brought even further heightens our enthusiasm for living. We all know people who are bored with their jobs, who withdraw from social involvement. Most of these people have lost touch with their fundamental sense of gratitude for what life has given them.

The power to enjoy life fully, to bring enthusiasm to whatever we do, is within our grasp. In fact, it's within our own mind.

I'll be as enthusiastic as I am grateful today.

From the book In God's Care by Karen Casey. ©

From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.---Maurice Setter

Silver shines as bright as gold does. So often we forget this. So often we push, push, push. We forget to live for the moment. Trying too hard can be a defect of character. It can be a way we avoid life. Gratitude, being thankful, is key part of recovery. Not just gratitude for getting our self-respect back. Not just gratitude for having a Higher Power. But gratitude for the moment. We're alive again. Let's see each moment as a time to explore life..

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me to enjoy each moment. I have gratitude for being alive.

Action for the Day: I'll list ten gifts of recovery for which I have gratitude.

From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

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One Day At A Time

Action

I heard someone say that AA works for those who work for it, those who put action into the program. . .

I heard that I should forget about yesterday and instead concentrate on today

and staying away from the first drink/drugf today -- now. I tried it and it worked.

- Came To Believe . . ., p. 42

Thought to Ponder . . .

I must walk into darkness to find the light.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

A A = Always Awesome.

From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)  http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html

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Daily Motivation

Excerpt of The Daily Motivator

Give good time

by Ralph Marston

Give yourself the time necessary to make the best of what you do. Your life has great value, so respect that value by investing the time to get it right.

Don’t settle for a cheap, superficial imitation of whatever you seek to experience. Take the time, put in the effort to get it right, to do it well, to give it a depth of meaning.

The world offers many flashy distractions, yet behind their flash is mostly nothing. Rather than rushing through empty diversions, seek the substance that comes from extended, focused attention.

The latest thing is always overshadowed quickly by an even newer latest thing. Instead of striving to keep up with what’s hot, give quality time and attention to what’s important and fulfilling.

The richness you accumulate, whether from friendships, experiences or accomplishments, is a function of the time you invest. Remind yourself of what really matters, and make plenty of time in your life for it.

Time is worth more than money, so don’t let shallow, fleeting concerns steal that valuable time. Give good time to all you love, and make the goodness grow.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/ 

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 4-26-2016

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Today's Gift

. . . pain is the root of knowledge. —Simone Weil

We don't want pain in our lives. We dread the situations we anticipate will be painful. We probably even pray to be spared all painful experiences. But they come anyway, at times in profusion. And we not only survive the pain, we profit from it.

It seems that pain stretches us to our limits, generally forcing us to look for guidance from others, and it pushes us to consider new choices in our present situation. Pain is our common denominator as women, as members of the human family. It softens us to one another. It fosters empathy. It helps us to reach out and realize our need for one another.

New knowledge, new awarenesses, are additional benefits of accepting, rather than denying, the pain that accompanies life. This journey that we're on is moving us further and further along the path of enlightenment. We can consider that each problem, each crisis, is our necessary preparation for moving another step down the road.

I learn out of necessity. And when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey ©

From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

"The horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never forget." "You will, though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of it." --Lewis Carroll

Crises come in many forms. When we are in the middle of any kind of crisis, we may feel like we have fallen into a deep hole. We may see no way out, and begin to feel hopeless and overwhelmed by the size and darkness of the hole.

Yet we are not alone. An animal caught in a hole would cry out until someone came along and helped it out. We, too, can call out for help--to our Higher Power and to the important people in our lives. We can learn to trust that, with the help of our friends and our Higher Power, we will be able to crawl out of our holes.

With trust, we will climb out of our crises and be healed with the passage of time. Such holes are a part of our landscape, yet every time we will be able to climb out and walk, leaving the darkness behind us.

Action for the Day: Today I'll ask for help when I need it.

From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

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One Day At A Time

Awareness

I need to feel a strong and helpful sense of myself.

Such an awareness doesn't happen overnight, and no one's self-awareness is permanent.

Everyone has the capacity for growth, and for self-awareness, through an honest encounter with reality.

- Daily Reflections, p. 100

Thought to Ponder . . .

What I am is My Higher Power's gift to me. What I make of myself is my gift to Them.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

A A = Always Aware.

From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)  http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html

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Daily Motivation

Excerpt of The Daily Motivator

Benefits of discomfort

by Ralph Marston

The discomfort of strenuous exercise makes your body stronger, and your spirit as well. The discomfort of an unfamiliar place heightens your senses, and soon results in greater confidence.

Your life benefits from your willingness to do what is uncomfortable. Go beyond where you are comfortable, and you grow in your capabilities, your relationships, your knowledge, your confidence and more.

If an opportunity or an idea is completely comfortable to you, it’s probably not of much value to you. If a person, a task or a situation never challenges you, there’s little chance for growth.

There’s nothing wrong with taking refuge in what is dependably comfortable. But don’t imprison yourself by refusing to ever leave those comfortable spaces.

Hone your best capabilities by reaching beyond what you already know you can do. For the sake of your own possibilities, seek out new people, places, responsibilities and concepts that make you a bit uncomfortable.

Discomfort strengthens you, teaches you, sharpens your senses and illuminates new, valuable possibilities. By making yourself a little vulnerable, a little uncomfortable, you can make your life a lot better.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 4-25-2016

Monday, April 25, 2016

Today's Gift

If you put your faith in something outside, if you rely upon someone or something else to tell you the truth, you’re putting yourself in a position of disempowerment. Author Unknwon

We must each discover our own truth.

It does not help us if those we love find their truth. They cannot give it to us. It does not help if someone we love knows a particular truth in our life. We must discover our truth for ourselves.

We must each discover and stand in our own light.

We often need to struggle, fail, and be confused and frustrated. That's how we break through our struggle; that's how we learn what is true and right for ourselves.

We can share information with others. Others can tell us what may predictably happen if we pursue a particular course. But it will not mean anything until we integrate the message and it becomes our truth, our discovery, and our knowledge.

There is no easy way to break through and find our truth.

But we can and will, if we want to.

We may want to make it easier. We may nervously run to friends, asking them to give us their truth or make our discovery easier. They cannot. Light will shed itself in its own time.

Each of us has our own share of truth, waiting to reveal itself to us. Each of us has our own share of the light, waiting for us to stand in it, to claim it as ours.

Encouragement helps. Support helps. A firm belief that each person has truth available - appropriate to each situation - is what will help.

Each experience, each frustration, each situation, has its own truth waiting to be revealed. Don't give up until you find it - for yourself.

We shall be guided into truth, if we are seeking it. We are not alone.

Today, I will search for my own truth, and I will allow others to do the same. I will place value on my vision and the vision of others. We are each on the journey, making our own discoveries - the ones that are right for us today.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. --Helen Keller

There is wonder in the moment, if we but look for it, let it touch us, believe in it. And with the recognition and celebration of the wonder comes the joy we desire and await.

Being wholly in tune with the present moment is how we'll come to know the spiritual essence that connects all of life. We search for peace, happiness, and contentment outside of ourselves. We need instead to discover it within us, now and always, in whatever we are experiencing.

We can let our experiences wash over us. Longing for a different time, a distant place, a new situation breeds discontent. It prevents us from the thrill, the gifts offered in this present moment. But they are there.

We can practice feeling joyful in the present, be thrilled with the realization that right now, all is well. All is always well. Life is full of mystery and wonder and each moment of our awareness adds to the wonder.

Action for the Day: I am moving forward; we all are. I am on target. I am participating in a glorious, wonderful drama. Let me jump for joy. I have been specially blessed.

From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

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One Day At A Time

Life is not a Dead End

When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is

that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before

on his unaided strength and resources alone.

He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.

He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere,

that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered.

- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, 

Thought to Ponder . . .
The joy is in the journey, so enjoy the ride.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)  http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html

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Daily Motivation

Excerpt of The Daily Motivator

Your own special songs

by Ralph Marston

Allow yourself to be yourself. If you don’t want what the world says you should want, have the courage to say so.

Your greatest opportunities for making a difference in this world flow from your unique perspective. Explore, strengthen, celebrate and express that perspective every chance you get.

It’s not a matter of being different just to be different. It’s a matter of being honest with yourself and others about who you truly are.

You have your own special songs to sing. Sing them with passion, just because it feels so right.

What the world tells you is to be like everybody else. What the world needs is for you to be you.

Give to life the unique beauty of your own special making. Allow yourself to feel how good it feels, and to see what a positive difference the real you can make for everyone.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/