Monday, February 26, 2018
Today's Gift
True success
I have never for one instant seen clearly within myself. How then would you have me judge the deeds of others? —Maurice Maeterlinck
We have been given the job of getting to know ourselves and dealing with our own craziness. We aren't so good at it that we have spare time and energy left to make judgments about those around us. We are tempted to become absorbed in their behavior and choices, and it does feel like a welcome distraction from anxieties about ourselves. So we must learn to detach from the family members and friends that we are tempted to fix, or monitor, or judge.
Although we are very close, we are on separate paths in life. We were not born together, and we will not die together. We will make our family or our friendships and the world a little bit better by staying centered on our own sanity.
I pray for a clear separation between what is on my path in this life and what is on someone else's path. Then we can make good bridges between us.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©
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
Walk In Dry Places
Malicious Gossip
We are growing up when we come to see that gossip feeds on our own insecurity and self-deception. When we are unwilling to part company with gossip, we devise subtle ways to keep it in our lives. We can gossip by steering the conversation to a topic that is likely to bring revealing comments. We also gossip by reveling in lurid accounts of others' sins and failings. We should even ask ourselves if we are gossiping when we "discuss" another member who is not living up to our ideas of true Twelve Step standards. This is often prefaced by the remark, "I don't want to take Joe's inventory, but….."
We cannot live freely and happily if we practice gossip in any form. The practice may be hidden, but it leaves us with guilt, fear, and shame. We cannot gossip and be completely trustworthy and reliable.
Show Other Alcoholics
WE, OF Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women
who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.
To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.
For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing
that no further authentication will be necessary.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to First Edition, p.xiii
Thought to Ponder
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.
AA-related 'Alconym'
S O L U T I O N S = Saving Our Lives Using The Inventory Of Needed Steps
Malicious Gossip
Honest Motives
"Without really knowing what was happening, I said something bad today about a person I secretly resented. When it occurred to me that my remark could come back to hurt me, I had a moment of panic," an AA member said. "With little reflection, however, I realized that the more serious problem was the dishonesty that caused me to belittle somebody behind hie back!"
"Without really knowing what was happening, I said something bad today about a person I secretly resented. When it occurred to me that my remark could come back to hurt me, I had a moment of panic," an AA member said. "With little reflection, however, I realized that the more serious problem was the dishonesty that caused me to belittle somebody behind hie back!"
We are growing up when we come to see that gossip feeds on our own insecurity and self-deception. When we are unwilling to part company with gossip, we devise subtle ways to keep it in our lives. We can gossip by steering the conversation to a topic that is likely to bring revealing comments. We also gossip by reveling in lurid accounts of others' sins and failings. We should even ask ourselves if we are gossiping when we "discuss" another member who is not living up to our ideas of true Twelve Step standards. This is often prefaced by the remark, "I don't want to take Joe's inventory, but….."
We cannot live freely and happily if we practice gossip in any form. The practice may be hidden, but it leaves us with guilt, fear, and shame. We cannot gossip and be completely trustworthy and reliable.
Action for the Day: I will truly mind my own business today. Forgiving myself for past excursions into gossip, I will say nothing about others behind their backs. If somebody has gossip to share, I will politely move to another topic.
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
WE, OF Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women
who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.
To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.
For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing
that no further authentication will be necessary.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to First Edition, p.xiii
Thought to Ponder
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.
AA-related 'Alconym'
S O L U T I O N S = Saving Our Lives Using The Inventory Of Needed Steps
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
Let go of the need to chase mere tokens of success. Allow yourself to create your own unique, authentic success.
Detach the idea of success from your ego. Connect it instead to your soul.
Get away from needs and worries and the toxic tension they produce. Immerse your awareness in the abundance around you, in the possibilities, in your love of making a difference.
Gently embrace each challenge, grateful for the opportunity to transform it into value. Recognize in each person you encounter, in every situation, the chance to bring new fulfillment into the world.
What can you do with this day, that you’ll remember and be thankful for ten years from now? In pondering such things, you will discover yourself pointed toward true success.
Seek ever to serve, to expand, to celebrate and share what nourishes you at the deepest level. Live the reality of true success.
Let go of the need to chase mere tokens of success. Allow yourself to create your own unique, authentic success.
Detach the idea of success from your ego. Connect it instead to your soul.
Get away from needs and worries and the toxic tension they produce. Immerse your awareness in the abundance around you, in the possibilities, in your love of making a difference.
Gently embrace each challenge, grateful for the opportunity to transform it into value. Recognize in each person you encounter, in every situation, the chance to bring new fulfillment into the world.
What can you do with this day, that you’ll remember and be thankful for ten years from now? In pondering such things, you will discover yourself pointed toward true success.
Seek ever to serve, to expand, to celebrate and share what nourishes you at the deepest level. Live the reality of true success.
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