Friday, February 2, 2018
Today's Gift
What most of us want is to be heard, to communicate. —Dory Previn
Our personhood is denied; the self we are presenting to the word is negated each time we speak, yet go unheard. "The greatest gift we can give one another is rapt attention." If we want attention, we must also give it. That means letting go of all extraneous thoughts when we're in conversation with someone. We cannot expect to get from others what we are unable or unwilling to give.
Being heard and hearing another person is more than just listening. It's letting ourselves be touched, in an intimate way, by the other's words. We don't want judgment, or shame, or to be discounted when we share who we are with another. We want to know that we have been intimately heard. And when we have a chance to hear another, we listen intently for the words meant for us, words that will stretch our womanhood and bring us closer to our inner selves as well.
The beauty of hearing each other is that it helps us to hear ourselves. We know better who we are when we listen to one another. Every conversation offers us a chance to be real, to help another person be real.
Rapt attention is my greatest gift. If I want to receive it, I must give it.
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
Compassion is ... a spirituality and a way of living and walking through life. It is the way we treat all there is in life ourselves, our bodies, our imaginations and dreams, our neighbors, our enemies.... Compassion is a spirituality as if creation mattered. It is treating all creation as holy and as divine..., which is what it is. --Matthew Fox
In our search for growth, serenity, and contentment, we can start at a very practical level. Simply treat ourselves, inside and out, and everything around us in a respectful and caring way. Many people have not learned how to do that. Some of us have learned to accept abuse and pain, or to be tough and abusive.
We can learn about being in a healthy relationship, about befriending ourselves and others and all of creation. With practice, we will learn more and more about having compassion. As we do, our self-centeredness and our self-pity will fall away.
Action for the Day: Today, I will be compassionate toward each of the details of creation, and practice acceptance both within and. outside myself.
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
Promises
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that our Higher Power is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not.
They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
They will always materialize if we work for them.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 84
Thought to Ponder
Reliance on my Higher Power enables me to match calamity with serenity.
AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Amazing Adventure
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Calm and thoughtful
by Ralph Marston
Stay calm, stay thoughtful, and stay in control. Tap into the great strength that resides in serenity.
Just because urgent action is required does not mean panic is called for. Choose to stay calm, and do your most effective work.
Anxiety drains your energy, distorts your perception, and gives you nothing of value in return. Frenzied activity invites carelessness and wasted effort.
Your best way forward is with calm and determined strength, especially when you’re immersed in noise, clutter, and confusion. Stay calm, and make decisions based on purpose and intention, not tumult and disruption.
Absorb the hectic energy as it swirls around you. Then utilize that energy in a focused and well-considered way.
Stay calm, and experience how strong and effective you feel. Stay calm, and when the chaos subsides, you’ll be far ahead.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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