Thursday, March 29, 2018
Today's Gift
Action for the Day: I'll try to take time to watch animals at play and learn from their vitality and enjoyment.
Bedrock
But upon entering A.A. we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation.
We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward
liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be
firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.
- Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, p. 21
Thought to Ponder
Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.
AA-related 'Alconym'
S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Action, Trust
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Feel good about you
Life guarantees a chance - not a fair shake. --Bernie Y.
Life is not fair. Most of us know that, but few of us accept it. Something in us often clings to the idea that ultimately, the gifts will all be evenly divided. Mostly we want to be paid back for the injustices of the past. Many of us expect - no, demand - redress from fate. We think life should "make it up" to us somehow. That's why it's so hard for us to go on discovering, again and again, what we already know: Life is not fair.
The good job that should have been ours, the accident that crippled a loved one, unwanted childlessness - these things are not fair. But life is like soil, not like seed. The chance of a harvest is there, but only if we plant the seed. And even then we may not get the harvest we expected or wished for - not on our own timetable. It is an act of faith, and of great courage, to keep on sowing seeds when we don't know what we're going to get. But it's the only chance we have. We need to stop expecting the soil to provide the seed.
Today, I will be grateful to be alive. This day offers a chance for a fuller life, and I will accept what comes of my efforts.
From the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. ©
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
All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it. --Samuel Butler
If we take time to watch animals, we see that they have a zest for life that seems to engage them totally in whatever they are doing. A cat chasing its tail, a dog going after a ball, a horse running along the shore, a dolphin leaping and diving - all are actions that reveal energy and delight in simply being alive.
Life, we say, is to be enjoyed, but how many of us manage to put this theory into practice? We often associate pleasure with guilt or with acting out or with hurting or being hurt, and so we stand back from the full enjoyment of our power to be really alive.
Letting go of our shame and feelings of unworthiness will help us to let go and live. If we can tap into the spontaneity that runs through the animal kingdom, we will rediscover the sheer joy of being alive.
All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it. --Samuel Butler
If we take time to watch animals, we see that they have a zest for life that seems to engage them totally in whatever they are doing. A cat chasing its tail, a dog going after a ball, a horse running along the shore, a dolphin leaping and diving - all are actions that reveal energy and delight in simply being alive.
Life, we say, is to be enjoyed, but how many of us manage to put this theory into practice? We often associate pleasure with guilt or with acting out or with hurting or being hurt, and so we stand back from the full enjoyment of our power to be really alive.
Letting go of our shame and feelings of unworthiness will help us to let go and live. If we can tap into the spontaneity that runs through the animal kingdom, we will rediscover the sheer joy of being alive.
Action for the Day: I'll try to take time to watch animals at play and learn from their vitality and enjoyment.
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
Bedrock
But upon entering A.A. we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation.
We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward
liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be
firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.
- Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, p. 21
Thought to Ponder
Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.
AA-related 'Alconym'
S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Action, Trust
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Feel good about you
by Ralph Marston
You deserve to feel good about life now. Stop being so hard on yourself.
Imagine you’re someone else who is discussing the way you live. That imaginary other person would not be nearly so critical of your life as you are.
In fact, that other person would see plenty of good things about you. What are those good things you’re overlooking in your life because they’re so familiar?
Step back from the harsh judgments you’ve been imposing on yourself. Give yourself some breathing room, relax, and let yourself feel good, now, about you.
No, you’re not perfect, you’ve made mistakes and will continue to do so. Yet there’s a great reservoir of goodness in you.
With quiet confidence and humility, and the best of expectations, feel that goodness. Feel good about you, about the good you can do, and allow beneficial actions to flow freely from your good feeling.
You deserve to feel good about life now. Stop being so hard on yourself.
Imagine you’re someone else who is discussing the way you live. That imaginary other person would not be nearly so critical of your life as you are.
In fact, that other person would see plenty of good things about you. What are those good things you’re overlooking in your life because they’re so familiar?
Step back from the harsh judgments you’ve been imposing on yourself. Give yourself some breathing room, relax, and let yourself feel good, now, about you.
No, you’re not perfect, you’ve made mistakes and will continue to do so. Yet there’s a great reservoir of goodness in you.
With quiet confidence and humility, and the best of expectations, feel that goodness. Feel good about you, about the good you can do, and allow beneficial actions to flow freely from your good feeling.
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