Thursday, June 27, 2019
Today's Gift
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. —Helen Keller
In the game of musical chairs, everyone walks around a circle of chairs. When the music stops, they scramble for the nearest open chair. If we were playing this game and found the nearest chairs taken, wouldn't we quickly look around for the next open one? To remain immobilized, angry that the chair we wanted was taken, would undoubtedly lose our place in the game.
Sometimes in life, we set our sights on a particular chair. Perhaps there is an award we want to win, or we want to be the high scorer on our team. Perhaps there is a promotion or a job we would like to get. When we do not get what we want, it is easy to keep looking at what we didn't get instead of seeing all we have.
It is important to be grateful for what we have - for the open doors and empty chairs waiting and inviting our attention. Loss and disappointment are a part of life - but the music will play again and our lives can move on.
What is available to me today?
From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©
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
We have a spiritual experience in knowing and being touched by something much larger than us, something beyond what we understand, something of mysterious dimensions. It can happen as we stand on the banks of an ageless river, listen to beautiful music, read scripture, or say a prayer with a friend. When we set aside defiance, willfulness, and our demands to subdue whatever we meet, we become receptive to a larger reality. The experience of awe brings out the best in a man because it instills a spirit of respect and gratitude. It inspires humility and expands our minds into realms we can't express in words.
The sense of awe is a kind of reverence. After we learn where our personal awe is inspired, we can return to it again and again. As we feel it more, we become more open to it in the mundane parts of our daily lives. Today we might feel the spirit in the visit of a wild bird on a branch, the spontaneous "Hi" from a small child, or the stillness before prayer at the dinner table.
Action for the Day: Today, I will look for moments of awe in my life.
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 turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future.
We were prepared to look at it from an entirely different angle.
We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us.
In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real,
had power to actually kill. How could we escape?
We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how?
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 66
Thought to Ponder
Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
AA-related 'Alconym'
F R E E = Fortunately, Recovery Enhances Everything
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Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
You cannot avoid paying the price in life. What you can do is choose how and when the price is paid, and that determines what you receive in return.
Your best choice, by far, is to pay the price before you get the reward. You pay the price by filling your time with disciplined, purposeful activity, and you’re rewarded with the outcome of your choice.
In doing so, both the price you pay and the reward you receive are beneficial. Being productive is itself enjoyable and fulfilling, and the fruits of your labor can improve your life for years or decades.
A much less desirable choice is to get the reward before you pay the price. The reward in this case is getting to spend a lot of time putting forth no effort, and the price you pay is to have your life filled with regret for all that wasted time.
In such a scenario, the value of the reward is not really that great, and it doesn’t last. The price you end up paying later, regret, is a terrible burden, one you’ll have great trouble getting rid of.
Be eager always to pay the price before you obtain the reward. By doing so you’re sure to make the price much lower and the reward much greater.
You cannot avoid paying the price in life. What you can do is choose how and when the price is paid, and that determines what you receive in return.
Your best choice, by far, is to pay the price before you get the reward. You pay the price by filling your time with disciplined, purposeful activity, and you’re rewarded with the outcome of your choice.
In doing so, both the price you pay and the reward you receive are beneficial. Being productive is itself enjoyable and fulfilling, and the fruits of your labor can improve your life for years or decades.
A much less desirable choice is to get the reward before you pay the price. The reward in this case is getting to spend a lot of time putting forth no effort, and the price you pay is to have your life filled with regret for all that wasted time.
In such a scenario, the value of the reward is not really that great, and it doesn’t last. The price you end up paying later, regret, is a terrible burden, one you’ll have great trouble getting rid of.
Be eager always to pay the price before you obtain the reward. By doing so you’re sure to make the price much lower and the reward much greater.
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