Friday, December 25, 2020
Today's Gift
Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. —Janice Maeditere
The Holidays
Sometimes, the holidays are filled with the joy we associate with that time of year. The season flows. Magic is in the air.
Sometimes, the holidays can be difficult and lonely.
Here are some ideas I've learned through personal experience, and practice, to help us get through difficult holidays:
Deal with feelings, but try not to dwell unduly on them. Put the holidays in perspective: A holiday is one day out of 365. We can get through any 24-hour period.
Get through the day, but be aware that there may be a post-holiday backlash. Sometimes, if we use our survival behaviors to get through the day, the feelings will catch up to us the next day. Deal with them too. Get back on track as quickly as possible.
Find and cherish the love that's available, even if it's not exactly what we want. Is there someone we can give love to and receive love from? Is there a family who would enjoy sharing their holiday with us? Don't be a martyr - go. There may be those who would appreciate our offer to share our day with them.
We are not in the minority if we find ourselves experiencing a less than ideal holiday. How easy, but untrue, to tell ourselves the rest of the world is experiencing the perfect holiday, and we're alone in conflict.
We can create our own holiday agenda. Buy yourself a present. Find someone to whom you can give. Unleash your loving, nurturing self and give in to the holiday spirit.
Maybe past holidays haven't been terrific. Maybe this year wasn't terrific. But next year can be better, and the next a little better. Work toward a better life - one that meets your needs. Before long, you'll have it.
Higher Power, help me enjoy and cherish this holiday. If my situation is less than ideal, help me take what's good and let go of the rest.
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
********************************Twenty-Four Hours a DayKeep It Simple
Giving is part of the holiday spirit. We need not lament because we don’t understand the nature of giving. Many of us suffer during the holidays for reasons a little more subtle than usual. Though we don’t realize it, many of us feel inadequate to the holiday spirit, which is so magnificent. We need to allow ourselves to dwell in this magnificence.
We are all children of our Higher Power. We can joyfully accept its gifts of love, peace, fellowship, sobriety, and cleanness. We will learn how to give in turn.
Do I feel the spirit of the holidays?
Thank you, Higher Power, for your gifts to me today and every day.
Action for the Day: Today I will share in the holiday spirit
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
Dear Friends:
Gratitude is just about the finest attribute we can have, and how
deeply we of AA realize this at Christmastime. We know that our
very lives, our miraculous new chance to live, to learn, to grow
and to serve, is the supreme gift of Grace which has come to us
from Them who presides over us all. May we joyfully meditate
upon these precious blessings as never before.
-- Bill W.
- AA Grapevine, The December 1963 magazine
Thought to Ponder
I have learned how a heart full of gratitude feels.
AA-related 'Alconym'
H U G S = Hope, Unity, Gratitude, Serenity
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html
Add to the celebration***************************Daily MotivationExcerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
On this precious day, in your own special way, create a world with no disappointment. Fill moment after moment with joy, wonder, and laughter.
Speak from a place of love. Act from an alignment with joy.
Think from a perspective of hope. Feel from a position of peace.
See, understand, and lift up the goodness that is in every life. Discover new beauty in every experience.
Carry peaceful purpose wherever you go. With kindness, with patience, with the most beneficial of intentions, offer the best of who you are.
This is a time to celebrate life in its highest form. Add your most authentic goodness to the celebration.
On this precious day, in your own special way, create a world with no disappointment. Fill moment after moment with joy, wonder, and laughter.
Speak from a place of love. Act from an alignment with joy.
Think from a perspective of hope. Feel from a position of peace.
See, understand, and lift up the goodness that is in every life. Discover new beauty in every experience.
Carry peaceful purpose wherever you go. With kindness, with patience, with the most beneficial of intentions, offer the best of who you are.
This is a time to celebrate life in its highest form. Add your most authentic goodness to the celebration.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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