The Work-In: Daily Motivation 8-26-2020

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Today's Gift

Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others. —Fyodor Dostoyevsky

In order to grow in honesty we first need to see how we lied to others and to ourselves. This is not as easy as it first appears. Our lies to ourselves kept us so fully in the dark that we did not know we were lying. We sometimes told "sincere" lies because we honestly did not distinguish the truth within ourselves. For so long we had preferred dishonest rationalizations, and we had come to believe them.

Personal growth in life is based upon experience. What we feel, what we see and hear, is what we know. When we simplify our lives and base the truth upon our experiences, we slowly cleanse ourselves of the lies we told ourselves. With this kind of honesty comes an inner peace with ourselves in whom we can say, "I know myself."

Today, I will accept my experience as a simple message of truth.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©

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

Walk In Dry Places

Waste Utilization

Releasing the past
Today the world faces seemingly insurmountable problems with solid and liquid
waste. Communities struggle to find solutions as waste accumulates
and space for disposal sites grows scarce.

As recovering people, we have a similar problem with waste residues from
our past. We don't seem to be able to bury bad memories; like the
physical waste in the environment, they come back to poison us. The best answer is to 
use waste, not throw it away. Instead of trying to bury the past, let's keep it in view 
but let it be purified by the sunlight of honesty and humility. By admitting past wrongs 
and forgiving everyone involved.... including ourselves..... we turn waste into useful 
experience. Nature can do this with much physical waste, over time. we can also let our 
spiritual nature do that with the emotional and mental waste of our past.

Action for the Day: I'll realize that every past mistake and experience can be properly
utilized today for something good and uplifting.

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

A Tornado
The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring their way through the lives
of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead.
Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits
have kept the home in turmoil. We feel a person is unthinking when
they say that sobriety is enough. They are like the farmer who came
up out of their cyclone cellar to find their home ruined. To their spouse,
they remarked, "Don't see anything the matter here.
Ain't it grand the wind stopped blowin'?"
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 82

Thought to Ponder
Sobriety without action is fantasy.

AA-related 'Alconym'
N U T S = Not Using The Steps

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

Live honest
by Ralph Marston

Life is filled with great possibilities, right now, available to you. To live richly you don’t have to be perfect, just honest and authentic.

Admit your faults, admit your fears, admit you’re human. Nobody cares about how perfect everything is in your life, and anyway, it’s not, and that’s perfectly okay.

Don’t be afraid, or embarrassed, to be afraid. Don’t be too proud to ask for help when you could use it.

Life is uncertain, and that’s what makes the wonder so wonderful. Sometimes you’ll be uncomfortable, and those are the times you’ll grow stronger.

You have fears, quirks, little habits that annoy people, and a delightful, unique perspective no one can duplicate. Embrace all that, and enjoy every moment of being you.

Joy and richness are yours to live in the ups, the downs, the fears and the fun. Live real, live honest, and you’ll live very well.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/