Monday, June 25, 2018
Today's Gift
We begin with the truth and build on the firm foundation it provides. We often hear we should have a positive attitude, we should be grateful for the new day. Perhaps some days we feel enthusiasm, and it's wonderful when we do. But we don't need to turn it into a requirement because shoulds tend to keep us out of touch with our honest feelings.
All feelings are acceptable. Whatever they are, the entire range of color and intensity of feelings comes from our Creator. Our task is dealing with them and responding to them. We begin by acknowledging them as they are. We do not have license to do whatever we feel like doing, only to feel what we feel. This point of honesty is a solid stepping-stone to grow from. We often find we feel different as soon as we admit our feelings.
Action for the Day: Today, I will admit my true feelings and accept them as stepping-stones.
Defects
We who have escaped these extremes are apt to congratulate ourselves. Yet can we?
After all, hasn't it been self-interest, pure and simple, that has enabled most of us
to escape? Not much spiritual effort is involved in avoiding excesses which will bring
us punishment anyway. But when we face up to the less violent aspects of these
very same defects, then where do we stand?
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 66
Thought to Ponder
A "shortcoming" is like a flat tire. A "character defect" is like driving on it.
AA-related 'Alconym'
B A T H = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, Habits
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Progress to be made
I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches. —Alice Roosevelt Longworth
All too often, we complicate our lives. We can wonder and worry our way into confusion; obsession or preoccupation it's often called. "What if?" "Will he?" "Should I?" "What do you think?" We seldom stop trying to figure out what to do, where to do it, how to meet a challenge, until someone reminds us to "keep it simple."
What we each discover, again and again, is that the solution to any problem becomes apparent when we stop searching for it. The guidance we need for handling any difficulty, great or small, can only come into focus when we remove the barriers to it, and the greatest barrier is our frantic effort to personally solve the problem. We clutter our minds; we pray for an answer and yet don't become quiet enough, for long enough, to become aware of the direction to go, or the steps to take. And they are always there.
Inherent in every problem or challenge is its solution. Our greatest lesson in life may be to keep it simple, to know that no problem stands in our way because no solution eludes a quiet, expectant mind.
I have opportunities every day to still my mind. And the messages I need - will come quietly. My answers are within me, now.
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
Some people greet the morning with a smile, but it's more natural to protest its presence with sleepy sulkiness. "Who asked you to come again?" we feel like saying to it, as if it were a most unwelcome guest. --Brendan Francis
We begin with the truth and build on the firm foundation it provides. We often hear we should have a positive attitude, we should be grateful for the new day. Perhaps some days we feel enthusiasm, and it's wonderful when we do. But we don't need to turn it into a requirement because shoulds tend to keep us out of touch with our honest feelings.
All feelings are acceptable. Whatever they are, the entire range of color and intensity of feelings comes from our Creator. Our task is dealing with them and responding to them. We begin by acknowledging them as they are. We do not have license to do whatever we feel like doing, only to feel what we feel. This point of honesty is a solid stepping-stone to grow from. We often find we feel different as soon as we admit our feelings.
Action for the Day: Today, I will admit my true feelings and accept them as stepping-stones.
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 who have escaped these extremes are apt to congratulate ourselves. Yet can we?
After all, hasn't it been self-interest, pure and simple, that has enabled most of us
to escape? Not much spiritual effort is involved in avoiding excesses which will bring
us punishment anyway. But when we face up to the less violent aspects of these
very same defects, then where do we stand?
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 66
Thought to Ponder
A "shortcoming" is like a flat tire. A "character defect" is like driving on it.
AA-related 'Alconym'
B A T H = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, Habits
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
Complaining about what’s wrong won’t make anything better. Move beyond mere complaints, and do the difficult work to create a positive way forward.
Punishing those who are to blame won’t improve the situation. Get past the blaming and turn your attention toward understanding, cooperation, and creating value for everyone involved.
Getting rid of what’s working poorly can leave you with nothing that works at all. See if you can find a way to improve rather than just destroy.
Sometimes it’s necessary to tear it all down and start from scratch. But that’s rarely as simple or straightforward as it sounds.
When the situation is broken, you don’t have to break it even more. Instead, look for what you can salvage, and use that as your starting point.
Avoid the temptation to descend into destruction and retribution. There’s great progress to be made by everyone, so put all your focus on that.
Complaining about what’s wrong won’t make anything better. Move beyond mere complaints, and do the difficult work to create a positive way forward.
Punishing those who are to blame won’t improve the situation. Get past the blaming and turn your attention toward understanding, cooperation, and creating value for everyone involved.
Getting rid of what’s working poorly can leave you with nothing that works at all. See if you can find a way to improve rather than just destroy.
Sometimes it’s necessary to tear it all down and start from scratch. But that’s rarely as simple or straightforward as it sounds.
When the situation is broken, you don’t have to break it even more. Instead, look for what you can salvage, and use that as your starting point.
Avoid the temptation to descend into destruction and retribution. There’s great progress to be made by everyone, so put all your focus on that.
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