Friday, April 3, 2020
Today's Gift
Acceptance
Surrender to the moment. Ride it out and through, for all it's worth. Throw yourself into it.
Stop resisting.
So much of our anguish is created when we are in resistance. So much relief, release, and change are possible when we accept, simply accept.
We waste our time, expend our energy, and make things harder by resisting, repressing, and denying. Repressing our thoughts will not make them disappear. Repressing a thought already formed will not make us a better person. Think it. Let it come into reality. Then release it. A thought is not forever. If we don't like it, we can think another one or change it. But to do that, we must accept and release the first thought.
Resistance and repression will not change a thing. They will put us at war with our thoughts.
We make life harder by resisting and repressing our feelings. No matter how dark, how uncomfortable, how unjustified, how surprising, how inappropriate we might deem our feelings, resisting and repressing them will not free us from them. Doing that will make them worse. They will swirl inside us, torment us, make us sick, and make our body ache, compel us to do compulsive things, keep us awake, or put us to sleep.
In the final analysis, all that we're really called on to do is accept our feelings by feeling them, and saying, Yes, this is what I feel.
Feelings are for the present moment. The more quickly we can accept a feeling, the more quickly we will move on to the next.
Resisting or repressing thoughts and feelings does not change us or turn us into the person we want to be or think we should be. It puts us in resistance to reality. It makes us repressed. Eventually, it makes us depressed.
Resisting events or circumstances in our life does not change things, no matter how undesirable the events or circumstances may be.
Acceptance turns us into the person we are and want to be. Acceptance empowers the events and circumstances to turn around for the better.
What do we do if we're in resistance, in a tug of war with some reality in our life? Accepting our resistance can help us get through that too.
Acceptance does not mean we're giving our approval. It does not mean surrendering to the will and plans of another. It does not mean commitment. It is not forever. It is for the present moment. Acceptance does not make things harder; it makes things easier. Acceptance does not mean we accept abuse or mistreatment; it does not mean we forego boundaries, our hopes, dreams, desires, wants, or ourselves. It means we accept what is, so we know what to do to take care of ourselves and what boundaries we need to set. It means we accept what is and who we are at the moment, so we are free to change and grow.
Acceptance and surrender move us forward on this journey. Force does not work.
Acceptance and surrender - two concepts that hurt the most before we do them.
Today, I will practice accepting my present circumstances and myself. I will begin to watch and trust the magic that acceptance can bring into my life.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©
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
What is faith? It is believing in possibilities. It is the ability to carry on with our plans or to be true to our work even though we feel discouraged or tired. It is staying active in relationships even when we receive little in return or when our friends aren't able to respond.
If there were no doubt, there would be no need for faith. Faith is temporarily putting our doubts on the shelf and working toward our goals. Faith is trusting that help and support will be there for us even though they're not in view. It is looking at a map and choosing a new destination, getting on the road to go there, and trusting the marks on the map symbolize a real place that we will find.
Action for the Day: I will leave room for my doubts and discouragement, but I will not indulge them. I will choose to go with hope. I will give my energy to the better possibilities.
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
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 They 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, (More About Alcoholism) p. 30
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) http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html
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Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
Envision yourself in the days to come. See how much more rich and purposeful your life will be.
In the days to come, you’ll be stronger. You’re already feeling that strength as it continues to grow.
Experience will have given you a far greater appreciation for the good things you have. As a result, your life will encompass more joy, value, meaning, and fulfillment.
In the days to come, life will not always be easy. Yet in spite of that, and indeed because of that, your experiences will be increasingly worthwhile, and good.
Look forward, and see how much more you’ll be focused on all you love, on all that truly matters. You’ll live with more kindness, compassion, understanding, and generosity.
Every victory, every setback, every challenge, every effort, moves you ahead. Everything you’re living through now is adding to the richness of life in the days to come.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
Envision yourself in the days to come. See how much more rich and purposeful your life will be.
In the days to come, you’ll be stronger. You’re already feeling that strength as it continues to grow.
Experience will have given you a far greater appreciation for the good things you have. As a result, your life will encompass more joy, value, meaning, and fulfillment.
In the days to come, life will not always be easy. Yet in spite of that, and indeed because of that, your experiences will be increasingly worthwhile, and good.
Look forward, and see how much more you’ll be focused on all you love, on all that truly matters. You’ll live with more kindness, compassion, understanding, and generosity.
Every victory, every setback, every challenge, every effort, moves you ahead. Everything you’re living through now is adding to the richness of life in the days to come.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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