Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Today's Gift
How familiar wild enthusiasm and deadly seriousness are to most of us. We experience life within the extremes. The thrill of wild enthusiasm we try to trap, to control. We are exhilarated and feel good. Our serious side traps us, controls us, lowers a pall on all our activities. Both expressions keep us stuck. Neither expression allows the freedom of spontaneity so necessary to a full, healthy life.
Through our darker times we were searching for a feeling we didn't feel. We were searching for an unnatural state of happiness, even perhaps wild enthusiasm, because we had so little of any enthusiasm for life. Our search failed. Again and again we'd "catch it," only to have it elude us.
We may not have given up the search. But we will come to accept both states of mind as temporary and search instead for the middle ground. A sense of humor will make all of life's loads easier to bear. A sense of humor will offer us the balance that has been missing for so many years.
Today will offer me a chance to be wildly enthusiastic and a chance to be deadly serious. I'll try to focus on the middle ground and cultivate my sense of humor.
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
From the beginning of recorded literature, poets have sung of the glory of laughter. Being human means having the power to laugh, and as long as we are here, we will surely need and cherish that power.
Laughter can reconcile us with others and with the world. When we watch a funny movie, for example, we feel a bond with others as we laugh together. Through our laughter we are brought closer to other people.
Addiction isolates and drives us into ourselves. We retreat from our common humanity into a single unhappy consciousness. Our world narrows and joy retreats. Laughter is shut out.
In our groups we rediscover the joy of belonging to a community. Laughter is one sign of that community, and as we join in, we feel our isolation fading and a new sense of love and belonging emerging.
Action for the Day: I am rediscovering the joy of laughter that keeps me in touch with others.
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
Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were
helping others to understand him, when in actuality our true motive
was to feel superior by pulling him down. We sometimes hurt those
we love because they need to be "taught a lesson", when we really
want to punish. We were depressed and complained we felt bad,
when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy and attention.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 94
Thought to Ponder
Complaining is not an action step.
AA-related 'Alconym'
W I S D O M = When Into Self, Discover Our Motives
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html
Spectacular world***************************Daily MotivationExcerpt of The Daily Motivator
by Ralph Marston
This is a spectacular world. Make the commitment, right here and now, to be a more active participant in it.
Enjoy the wonder and beauty, but do more than just enjoy. Utilize your life, your time, your skills to make a whole lot more wondrous things and experiences in this world.
You have a crazy unique song to sing and an absolutely enthralling story to tell. Tell that story and sing that song in ways that will enrich the lives around you.
Sincere thankfulness will get you everywhere. Passionately demonstrate your gratitude for this spectacular world by making it even more so.
Dive into the experience of each day with the goal of making it more fulfilling than any previous day you’ve known. As each new moment arrives, find something new and purposeful and valuable to do with it.
Remind yourself often that you’re gloriously alive in a spectacular world. Find real joy and richness in living up to that promise, again and again.
This is a spectacular world. Make the commitment, right here and now, to be a more active participant in it.
Enjoy the wonder and beauty, but do more than just enjoy. Utilize your life, your time, your skills to make a whole lot more wondrous things and experiences in this world.
You have a crazy unique song to sing and an absolutely enthralling story to tell. Tell that story and sing that song in ways that will enrich the lives around you.
Sincere thankfulness will get you everywhere. Passionately demonstrate your gratitude for this spectacular world by making it even more so.
Dive into the experience of each day with the goal of making it more fulfilling than any previous day you’ve known. As each new moment arrives, find something new and purposeful and valuable to do with it.
Remind yourself often that you’re gloriously alive in a spectacular world. Find real joy and richness in living up to that promise, again and again.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/
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