Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Today's Gift
Practice being spontaneous. Practice having fun.
The joy of recovery is that we finally get to experiment. We get to learn new behaviors, and we don't have to do them perfectly. We only need to find a way that works for us. We even have fun experimenting, learning what we like, and how to do what we like.
Many of us have gotten into a rut with rigidity, martyrdom, and deprivation. One of the "normal" experiences many of us have been deprived of is having fun. Another one is being spontaneous. We may not have the foggiest notion what we would like to do for fun. And we may hold ourselves in check so tightly that we wouldn't allow ourselves to try something fun, anyway.
We can let ourselves go a little now and then. We can loosen up a bit. We don't have to be so stiff and rigid, so frightened about being who we are. Take some risks. Try some new activities. What would we like to do? What might we enjoy doing? Then, take another risk. Pick out a movie we'd like to see; call a friend, and invite them to go along. If that person says no, try someone else, or try again another time.
Decide to try something, then go through with it. Go once. Go twice. Practice having fun until fun becomes fun.
Step Six
If we can answer to our satisfaction, we then look at Step Six.
We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now
ready to let our Higher Power remove from us all the things which we have admitted
are objectionable? Can He now take them all—every one? If we still cling
to something we will not let go, we ask our Higher Power to help us be willing.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action,) p. 76
Thought to Ponder
The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
AA-related 'Alconym'
H O W = Honest, Open-minded, Willing
Present moment
If people only knew the healing power of laughter and joy, many of our fine doctors would be out of business. Joy is one of nature's greatest medicines. Joy is always healthy. A pleasant state of mind tends to bring abnormal conditions back to normal. —Catherine Ponder
Feeling joyful may not come naturally to us most of the time. We may, in fact, have to "act as if" with great effort. We may not even recognize genuine joy in the beginning. A technique for finding it is living fully in the present and with gratitude for all we can see, touch, and feel.
The open and honest expression of gratitude for the presence of the ones closest to us now creates a rush within our chests, a rush that will be shared by our friends, too. Joy is contagious. Joy is freeing. Joy brings into focus our distorted perceptions. Greeting life with joy alters every experience for us and for those we share it with.
I will bring joy wherever I go today. I will give the gift of joy to everyone I meet.
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
Spontaneity and Fun
Spontaneity and Fun
Practice being spontaneous. Practice having fun.
The joy of recovery is that we finally get to experiment. We get to learn new behaviors, and we don't have to do them perfectly. We only need to find a way that works for us. We even have fun experimenting, learning what we like, and how to do what we like.
Many of us have gotten into a rut with rigidity, martyrdom, and deprivation. One of the "normal" experiences many of us have been deprived of is having fun. Another one is being spontaneous. We may not have the foggiest notion what we would like to do for fun. And we may hold ourselves in check so tightly that we wouldn't allow ourselves to try something fun, anyway.
We can let ourselves go a little now and then. We can loosen up a bit. We don't have to be so stiff and rigid, so frightened about being who we are. Take some risks. Try some new activities. What would we like to do? What might we enjoy doing? Then, take another risk. Pick out a movie we'd like to see; call a friend, and invite them to go along. If that person says no, try someone else, or try again another time.
Decide to try something, then go through with it. Go once. Go twice. Practice having fun until fun becomes fun.
Today's Action: Today, I will do something just for fun. I will practice having fun until I actually enjoy it.
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
Step Six
If we can answer to our satisfaction, we then look at Step Six.
We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now
ready to let our Higher Power remove from us all the things which we have admitted
are objectionable? Can He now take them all—every one? If we still cling
to something we will not let go, we ask our Higher Power to help us be willing.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action,) p. 76
Thought to Ponder
The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
AA-related 'Alconym'
H O W = Honest, Open-minded, Willing
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
No matter how young or how old, no one has any more than the present moment you have right now. Whether wealthy, impoverished, famous, or obscure, every person has the same number of hours in this day.
Now is what you have, and it is more than enough. Today is the day you have, and with it you can add greatly to life.
Let go of every impulse to wish for more. Set yourself free to actually live for more.
The past was what it was, and now it is gone. Focus all the energy and resources of now, on the good things you can do with now.
Now is the time you can make a difference. This is the place where the next part of your life unfolds.
Stop wishing, stop waiting, stop doubting, blaming and delaying. Now is your time to live, with richness, with purpose, with zest, and with love.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
No matter how young or how old, no one has any more than the present moment you have right now. Whether wealthy, impoverished, famous, or obscure, every person has the same number of hours in this day.
Now is what you have, and it is more than enough. Today is the day you have, and with it you can add greatly to life.
Let go of every impulse to wish for more. Set yourself free to actually live for more.
The past was what it was, and now it is gone. Focus all the energy and resources of now, on the good things you can do with now.
Now is the time you can make a difference. This is the place where the next part of your life unfolds.
Stop wishing, stop waiting, stop doubting, blaming and delaying. Now is your time to live, with richness, with purpose, with zest, and with love.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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