Monday, December 25, 2017
Today's Gift
Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. --Thomas S. Monson
Sometimes, the holidays are filled with the joy we associate with that time of year. The season flows. Magic is in the air.
Sometimes, the holidays can be difficult and lonely.
Here are some ideas I've learned through personal experience, and practice, to help us get through difficult holidays:
Deal with feelings, but try not to dwell unduly on them. Put the holidays in perspective: A holiday is one day out of 365. We can get through any 24-hour period.
Get through the day, but be aware that there may be a post-holiday backlash. Sometimes, if we use our survival behaviors to get through the day, the feelings will catch up to us the next day. Deal with them too. Get back on track as quickly as possible.
Find and cherish the love that's available, even if it's not exactly what we want. Is there someone we can give love to and receive love from? Recovering friends? Is there a family who would enjoy sharing their holiday with us? Don't be a martyr - go. There may be those who would appreciate our offer to share our day with them.
We are not in the minority if we find ourselves experiencing a less than ideal holiday. How easy, but untrue, to tell ourselves the rest of the world is experiencing the perfect holiday, and we're alone in conflict.
We can create our own holiday agenda. Buy yourself a present. Find someone to whom you can give. Unleash your loving, nurturing self and give in to the holiday spirit.
Maybe past holidays haven't been terrific. Maybe this year wasn't terrific. But next year can be better, and the next a little better. Work toward a better life - one that meets your needs. Before long, you'll have it.
Universe, help me enjoy and cherish this holiday. If my situation is less than ideal, help me take what's good and let go of the rest.
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
Celebration is a forgetting in order to remember. A forgetting of ego, of problems, of difficulties. A letting go. --Matthew Fox
A holiday presents us with an opportunity to practice the letting go of this program. This is a special day to set aside our work and our routines, to put our problems and burdens on the shelf. Let us join with others who are also letting go on this day and celebrate. Maybe we can learn from them how they do it.
We may have been too compulsive on past holidays to celebrate. Or perhaps our holidays are clouded with painful memories. We might miss loved ones or we may recall disappointments for the chaos of earlier holidays. There is no need for perfection in our celebration. We can have some tension, or pain, and yet set it aside as we join with others for a special day.
Action for the Day: Today, I will set my ego aside and let go of the usual things in my life in order to reach out to others and participate in celebration.
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
Good Will
Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia.
We have it with us right here and now.
Each day my friend’s simple talk in our kitchen multiplies itself
in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 16
Thought to Ponder
Sobriety is not a destination, but an everlasting journey.
AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Answer Available
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Christmas presence
by Ralph Marston
There is a light in the darkness. It is love; it is joy.
There is a pure and simple radiance with a positive, joyous power. It warms the hearts of those who value peace and love.
The spirit of Christmas transcends beliefs, traditions, culture and customs. It speaks directly to the heart, of love and grace, of giving and of renewal.
In the pure, limitless power of love, life is created and sustained. In the radiance of this day, love’s presence is joyously expressed again and again, in countless ways.
In this moment, new life begins. And love is the ever-present purpose that drives every other purpose.
On this day, you have a glimpse of how truly blessed you are. Give love, give joy, and you have even more.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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