The Work-In: Daily Motivation 7-13-2021

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Today's Gift 

The trouble is not that we are never happy--it is that happiness is so episodical. —Ruth Benedict

Happiness is our birthright. The decision to be happy is ours to make, every day, when confronted with any experience. Too many of us grew up believing that life needed to be a certain way for us to be happy. We looked for the right lover, the right job, and the right dress. We looked outside of ourselves for the key to happiness.

Happiness lies within. We must encourage it to spring forth. But first we need to believe that happiness is fully within our power. We must trust that the most difficult circumstances won't keep it from us when we have learned to tap the source within.

Life is a gift we are granted moment-by-moment. Let us be in awe of the wonder of it, and then revel in it. We can marvel at creation for a moment and realize how special we are to be participants. Happiness will overcome us if we let it. We can best show our gratitude for the wonder of this gift by smiling within and without.

That I am here is a wonderful mystery to which joy is the natural response. It is no accident that I am here.

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

Keep It Simple

If I were to begin life again, I should want it as it was. I would only open my eyes a little more. —Jules Renard

Spiritual and emotional growth is a process of raising our awareness. Reflecting on our growth as an individual, before this program and after, we see different levels of consciousness. Some of us might say we weren't at all conscious of what it meant to be a man by the time we entered the adult world.

Now we are forming an awareness of personhood. We see ourselves more as recovering, caring, strong, vulnerable individual  in relationships with others. We have an increased sense that our actions make a difference as children, as parents, as spouses, lovers, and friends. Our increased understanding of ourselves makes it possible to fulfill our potentials for growth. It is not idle fantasy to imagine beginning life again because, in a sense, we have. In recovery, it seems we have begun life again, only with our eyes a little more open.

Action for the Day: I will live this day, and all my following days, with all of my awareness.

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

To Grow
This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to
take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes
as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we
cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our
next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is
not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 84

Thought to Ponder
Get it - Give it - Grow in it.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Always Aware

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

Feel life

by Ralph Marston

In order to feel your immense power, you must feel. Just go ahead and allow your authentic, living feelings to be, and move your life powerfully forward.

The way you feel connects you to the truth of who you are. Accept and acknowledge those feelings, and that truth becomes increasingly clear.

Listen to what you are telling yourself with the way you feel. Acquaint yourself with the full extent of the power you have by fully feeling the beautiful reality of who you are.

Be willing to accept the feelings as they come, and nurture your life with their energy. Then, be just as willing to let them go, so they never have to burden you, and so there will be space for new feelings to arise.

Instead of pushing your feelings down with judgment and fear, welcome the authentic power and truth they bring. You are here now to feel every rich and vibrant aspect of your existence.

Feel the life that is yours in each moment you live. Feel the truth, feel the positive power, and make a uniquely beautiful life with it all.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 7-12-2021

Monday, July 5, 2021

Today's Gift

If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet. —Isaac Bashevis Singer

Many of us have the habit of taking a negative outlook on whatever comes along. We don't believe things will work out for us; we don't think we will have a good day; we can't accept our friends' warm feelings. To follow this gloomy path is a strange distortion of faith - it is faith in the negative. Any forecast, whether hopeful or pessimistic, is a step into the unknown. So why do we choose the dark one?

We get a payoff for our pessimism, which keeps us hooked. It creates misery, but serves our demand for control. There is more risk in being open to something positive because we cannot force positive things to occur. We can only be open to them and believe in the possibility. But when we predict the negative and expect only bad things, we squelch many good things or overlook them. Then we say, "I knew it would be this way," and in our misery we satisfy our self-centered craving to be in charge. When we surrender our need to be in control, we are more open and welcoming of the good things that come our way.

Today. I will be open to the good that is around me.

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

Keep It Simple

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them ~Albert Einstein

Many of us stubbornly hold on to our long-established, preferred ways of looking at things. We don’t think we are stubborn, only that we rely on what worked for us in the past. Perhaps as young guys, we coped with stress by keeping our thoughts to ourselves, or we figured out that we wouldn’t get hurt if we didn’t trust anyone. All the patterns that we developed as youngsters were our best attempts at the time to deal with our lives. The greater the stress we felt, the harder won were our coping responses, and the stronger our attachment to them.

Our best answers from boyhood may not fit our lifetimes as men. Holding too dearly to childhood solutions freezes us in immature and weaker levels of growth. What was charming and harmless behavior in a child can be manipulating and dishonest in a man. Thus, we create new problems. We need to let ourselves become more vulnerable—to give up the security of our old ways and open ourselves to the messages coming from our friends, our program, and our experiences.

Action for the Day: Today, I will be open to insecurity and create the possibility of growing stronger.

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

Anger
In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed people,
institutions or principles with whom we were angry. We asked ourselves
why we were angry. In most cases it was found that our self-esteem,
our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships (including
sex) were hurt or threatened. So we were sore. We were "burned up."
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) pp. 64 - 65

Thought to Ponder
Pain is the measure of our resistance to change.

AA-related 'Alconym'
C A L M = Cause Anger Left Me

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

Why to persist

by Ralph Marston

Don’t get bogged down looking for a way to persist. Just make sure you’re absolutely clear on why you have chosen to persist.

When there is an authentic why, there is true motivation. When there is a real, solid meaningful why, there is action.

Many times that action won’t initially bring the desired results. When that happens, the most effective response is more action that’s been informed and adjusted as a result of the previous attempt.

Even if you have no clue what to do, the way to learn is to do something and discover what happens. And the thing that will get you to do something, and then to do more, is knowing why.

There is no secret technique to discipline. There is no closely guarded insider information on how to persist.

You already know how to start, and how to keep going, and how to persist until you achieve the objective. To utilize that knowledge and that discipline, all you have to do is to truly know why.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-29-2021

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Today's Gift

Let us open our natures, throw wide the doors of our hearts and let in the sunshine of good will and kindness. —O. S. Marden

Kindness is among the gifts we can most easily spread among others. The more we give of kind words and deeds, the more we discover that kindness is like a burning candle which lights many other candles without losing a trace of its own brightness. Our kindnesses are assets, which return unexpected dividends when we invest them in the happiness of others. Kindness is the very basis of love. It softens the most severe anger and gladdens the hardest hearts.

No kindness is too small to win and hold the affection of others because it is made up of gentleness, love, generosity, unselfishness, and caring.

What kindness do I have to offer 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

A good indignation brings out all one's powers. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anger is a human emotion that gets us in touch with our energy and our vitality. But like any good thing, it can also be used in hurtful ways. When we examine the role anger has played in our lives, some of us can see where we used it to intimidate and dominate others. Maybe we can recall being terrified by someone else's anger or even by our own. Some of us denied our anger and covered it with excessive helpfulness.

Examining the place anger has had in our lives Is one of the doorways we must pass through to regain our full masculine spirit. We learn to set aside the anger we used to cover fear or hurt. We express it respectfully and honestly when we feel it in a relationship. Expressing anger does not have to be abusive or rejecting. It can mean we care enough to be fully involved and we will not leave after we express it. We can learn to hear others in their anger rather than attempt to control or evade their message. In the process we are invigorated and feel healthier because we are claiming a larger part of ourselves.

Action for the Day: Today, I will first be honest with myself about angry feelings. Then I will find respectful ways to express them.

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

Persistent Effort
We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have
warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused
others and ourselves. By discovering what our emotional deformities are,
we can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort
to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 43

Thought to Ponder
In order to recover we have to uncover.

AA-related 'Alconym'
W O R K = What Our Recovery Knows

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

What you look for

by Ralph Marston

What you look for determines what you find. What you look for has a major influence on what comes into your life.

Look for reasons to connect and cooperate rather than for reasons to argue and accuse. Look for possibilities instead of excuses.

Look for ways to solve the problems. Look for what you can do to improve the situation.

Look for ideas, activities and resources that can be of benefit to yourself and others. Look for opportunities to create new value.

Look for what works, and give your support to those who facilitate it. Look for people who are competent, resourceful, generous and insightful, and emulate what they do.

Look for joy, look for goodness, look for truth and kindness and fulfillment. Look for the best you can imagine, and bring it abundantly to life.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 3-30-2021

 Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Today's Gift

Come stand by my side where I'm going, Take my hand if I stumble and fall, It's the strength that you share when you're growing, That gives me what I need most of all. —Hoyt Axton

The bear cub was miserable. Her father, the leader of the pack, had left a month ago to find them winter shelter and had not yet returned. Everyone went on as if nothing had changed.

One evening the cub had a dream in which her father appeared and said, "Daughter, I know you grieve for me, but your burden is too heavy to carry alone. Share it with the others and let them comfort you. Sharing will only lighten your load, and if you can accept help now you will find it easier to give when others are in need."

The next morning the little cub woke with a much lighter heart. As it turns out, everyone in the pack shared the same dream. There was much hugging and crying and reaching out and healing.

We can easily lighten our loads by asking support from those who love us, knowing our turn to help will come.

What help can I ask for 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 benefit by sharing our experience, strength, and hope.

Hearing how others have handled experiences similar to ours makes us aware that our old behaviors didn’t serve us very well. We also learn that any situation can be handled with the support of the Twelve Step fellowship.

In time we also come to appreciate what we gain by sharing with newcomers how we have survived painful, humiliating experiences. This gives them hope and a pattern to follow, similar to the one we received from the old-timers. We are also reminded of our strength to handle truly difficult experiences. We aren’t guaranteed a reprieve from them just because we are in a Twelve Step program. Thus we need the reminder occasionally as an antidote to troubled times.

Action for the Day: If a friend is troubled today, I will tap my own memory and offer what I have learned. Recalling my own troubled times will give me a measure of my growth. 

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

Development

As we have seen, self-searching is the means by which we bring

new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative

side of our natures. It is a step in the development of that kind

of humility that makes it possible for us to receive our Higher Power's help.

Yet it is only a step. We will want to go further.

- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 98

Thought to Ponder

I must walk through the darkness to find the light.

AA-related 'Alconym'

A C T = Action Changes Things

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

Do today

by Ralph Marston

Do today’s work today. Pushing it into the future accomplishes nothing other than to increase its toil.

Address today’s problems today. They will only grow more complicated and intractable as time goes on.

Live today’s joys today. If you postpone them until later, they’ll go away and never come back.

Life is now. If you are to achieve, be happy, connect with others, and experience the wondrous richness that is yours to know, now is when to make it all happen.

Whatever dream you are following, or wish to follow, has its next essential step today. Now is when you do the amazing, fulfilling work to transform all you have experienced and accumulated into all you can be.

It is an opportunity that has no equal, that will never come again. Don’t let it pass you by.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 2-16-2021

 Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Today's Gift

Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities. —Sue Atchley Ebaugh

Our dreams beckon us to new heights. All that we may need is the courage to move toward them, taking the necessary steps to realize those dreams. Trusting that we will be shown the steps, one at a time, patiently waiting for the right step and right time is all we need to do, today.

Our dreams, when they are for the good of ourselves and others, are invitations from the Universe to spread our wings, to attempt new heights. Those dreams are part of the destiny designed for us. They are not happenstance. Our gifts are unique. Our contributions are ours alone. Our dreams reflect the contributions we are called on to make in this life.

Our opportunities for fulfillment are varied and not always recognized as for our good. Again and again we need to turn to our Higher Power, be patient, and trust that we are being called to offer something very special to those around us. No one of us has escaped a special plan. And every one of us is inspired in particular ways, with particular talents. The Universe is clearing the way for us to burst forth with our talents.

I will be grateful for all that I am, for all that I have. And I will remember, what I give today to friends around me is mine only to give.

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

Keep It Simple

Releasing the Past

Living in the Present.

Some of us waste time brooding over past failures and lost opportunities. Since the past is beyond our reach, we can't change anything that happened. We do, however, have the power to change the way we view the present. We can begin by realizing that our past troubles really may have been valuable lessons.

We can also get a better perspective by releasing the idea that anything from the past controls our future. The real meaning of the saying "with God, all things are possible" is that our Higher Power can transform anything that happened in our past. AA has had its share of miraculous changes that came to people who seemingly had lost all hope. These changes have included miraculous restorations in health, finances, and relationships.

A new saying is that something or some person who bothered us in the past is history, as far as we're concerned. Let's put history where it belongs__ on the shelves and away from our daily thinking and activities.

Action for the Day: I can be a new person today and every day. The past cannot control or limit me, but I do benefit from its lessons.

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

Self-Propulsion
Most people try to live by self-propulsion. Each person is like an actor
who wants to run the whole show; is forever trying to arrange the
lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in there own
way. If their arrangements would only stay put, if only people would
do as they wished, the show would be great.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) pp. 60 - 61

Thought to Ponder
Love and tolerance of others is our code.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Attitude Adjustment

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

All the good you can do

by Ralph Marston

Let the good times and the difficult times bring out the best in you. See that each experience is fertile ground for excellence.

Make it your business to thrive on every challenge. Make it your choice to expand upon every joy.

No time, no situation, no task ever has to be a waste of your life. You can transform anything into your own unique flavor of fulfillment.

You can extract value where none is evident. You can create value where none existed before.

You don’t have to strive and fight to get everything to line up in your favor. Instead, look deeply enough to understand the factors that are already in your favor.

No matter how life unfolds, it can bring out the best in you. Be an active participant in that process and open yourself in every situation to all the good you can do.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 11-24-2020

  Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Today's Gift

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself. —Abraham Heschel

Most of us have struggled with our self-esteem. We believed if we felt better about ourselves we could change some of our behavior. In adulthood we found the reverse to be true. First our behavior changed, then our self-esteem improved.

Only after we stop doing things we don't respect can we hear and accept the goodwill of others around us. Then we see our value as a person because we are upholding strong self-images by our actions. This is not easy to do. As we learn, we continue to say no to weak behaviors, and we are released to feel greater dignity.

Saying no to my negative behavior today will improve my self-respect.

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

Keep It Simple

We shall not cease from exploration.
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
---T. S. Eliot

Our spiritual path is like a search leading home. We carry within us a yearning for the ideal, the perfect acceptance and love from our fathers and mothers. We long for fulfillment of our dreams, we long to feel strong and capable, and we want to understand, to truly come into our own.

As we peel back the layers of our defenses, we find what we knew all along. On a deep level, we knew no one could be totally self-sufficient. Now we are coming back to it as if it's brand new. The best images of our parents' love and acceptance of us are what we return to as models for how we can be. It is true we can never go home again. Yet our spiritual journey mysteriously leads us back to explore what we knew deeply all along.

Action for the Day: I will make peace with my past and explore the deeper knowledge I've always held within me.

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

Common Journey
High and low, rich and poor, these are future fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Among them you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with
new and wonderful ties, for you will escape disaster together and you will
commence shoulder to shoulder your common journey. Then you will know
what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life.
You will learn the full meaning of "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) pp. 152 - 153

Thought to Ponder
Only in giving do we receive in full measure.

AA-related 'Alconym'
T E A M = Together Everyone Achieves More

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

Meaningful experience

by Ralph Marston

You have the opportunity to make today a meaningful experience. From these moments you can create a meaningful experience not only for yourself but also for others.

Is there anything more fundamental to life than that? Of what value is everything else if it has no purpose, has no meaning?

So what exactly does make an experience meaningful? Anything is meaningful to the degree that it resonates with truth.

A meaningful experience is an authentic experience. A meaningful experience connects with your deepest idea of who you are.

It doesn’t have to be epic, or impressive, or even particularly memorable. It just has to be true, for you, for those with whom you share it.

At the heart of your life is truth, and the desire to express that truth in a million different ways. Let that truth drive you, today and every day, to create meaningful experiences.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 11-12-2020

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Today's Gift 

Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination. —Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Our minds mold who we become. Our thoughts not only contribute to our achievements, they determine the posture of our lives. How very powerful they are. Fortunately, we have the power to think the thoughts we choose, which means our lives will unfold much as we expect.

The seeds we plant in our minds indicate the directions we'll explore in our development. And we won't explore areas we've never given attention to in our reflective moments. We must dare to dream extravagant, improbable dreams if we intend to find a new direction, and the steps necessary to it.

We will not achieve, we will not master that which goes unplanned in our dream world. We imagine first, and then we conceive the execution of a plan. Our minds prepare us for success. They can also prepare us for failure if we let our thoughts become negative.

I can succeed with my fondest hopes. But I must believe in my potential for success. I will ponder the positive today.

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

Keep It Simple

It may be those who do most, dream most.---Stephen Leacock

Daydreaming gives us hope. It makes our world bigger. Daydreaming can be part of doing Step Eleven. As we meditate, we daydream. Through our daydreaming, we get to know ourselves, our spirit, and our Higher Power. What special work can we do? Our dreams can tell us.

There is time to work and time to dream. Daydreaming helps us find the work our Higher Power wants us to do.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please speak to me through my daydreams.

Action for the Day: I’ll set aside time to daydream. I will look into a candle flame, at picture, or out a window, and let my mind wander.

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

Twelfth Step Call
When they see you know all about the drinking game, commence to
describe yourself as an alcoholic. Tell them how baffled you were, how
you finally learned that you were sick. Give them an account of the
struggles you made to stop. Show them the mental twist which leads to
the first drink of a spree. We suggest you do this as we have done it in
the chapter on alcoholism. If they are alcoholic, they will understand you at
once. They will match your mental inconsistencies with some of their own.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) pp. 91 - 92

Thought to Ponder
I am responsible for the effort -- not the outcome.

AA-related 'Alconym'
P R O G R A M = People Relying On Goodness Relaying A Message

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

The good you can bring

by Ralph Marston

Can you see how miserable you make yourself when you’re unable to have some particular thing you don’t even need in the first place? Turn your attention instead to the good things you do have.

Let go of the silly fantasy that some magic bullet is going to make everything better all at once. Instead, immerse yourself in the true magic of using your wits and your efforts to make one thing better at a time.

Allow life to play out in its most meaningful and satisfying pattern. Recognize that the ups and the downs are inseparable parts of a whole.

It is a whole of experience that brings deep meaning and fulfillment to the core of your being. It is a true story of beauty and strength that runs through everything you encounter and all you do.

By choosing to tolerate the difficulties you develop the fortitude to master them. You learn to point every moment, every event in a positive direction.

What makes life special is the good you can bring to it. Embrace life always as it is, and bring it on.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 11-11-2020

   Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Today's Gift

Life has got to be lived--that's all there is to it. At 70 I would say the advantage is that you take life more calmly. You know that, "This, too, shall pass!" —Eleanor Roosevelt

Wisdom comes with age, but also with maturity. It is knowing that all is well in the midst of a storm. And as our faith grows, as we trust more that there is a power greater than ourselves, which will see us through, we can relax, secure that a better time awaits us.

We will come to understand the part a difficult circumstance has played in our lives. Hindsight makes so much clear. The broken relationship, the lost job, the loneliness have all contributed to who we are becoming. The joy of the wisdom we are acquiring is that hindsight comes more quickly. We can, on occasion, begin to accept a difficult situation's contribution to our wholeness while caught in the turmoil.

How far we have come! So seldom do we stay caught, really trapped, in the fear of misunderstanding. Life must teach us all we need to know. We can make the way easier by stretching our trust--by knowing fully that the pain of the present will open the way to the serenity of the future.

I know that this, whatever it is, too shall pass.

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

Keep It Simple

We shall not cease from exploration,
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive from where we started
And know the place for the first time.
--T. S. Eliot

We spend much of our lives looking forward to milestones we hope will mark our passage into wisdom--that time and place when once and for all we will know all there is to know.
When I am thirteen, I'll be grown up, we say. When I am sixteen, eighteen, 21, drive a car, graduate, marry, write a book, own a house, find a job, or retire; then I'll be grown up.

When we seek complete transformation, mere insight is disappointing. We find we don't know all there is to know--not at thirteen or 35 or 80. We are still growing up.

The baby, the child, the younger person each of us was yesterday is still with us; we continue to love, hate, hurt, grieve, startle, delight, feel.

There is no magic moment of lasting enlightenment, simply a series of fleeting moments lived one at a time each day. They bring us home to who we've always been.

Action for the Day: What small thing have I learned today?

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

My Language
They gave me information about the subject of alcoholism which was
undoubtedly helpful. Of far more importance was the fact that they were
the first living human with whom I had ever talked, who knew what
they were talking about in regard to alcoholism from actual experience.
In other words, they talked my language. They knew all the answers, and
certainly not because they had picked them up in their reading.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Doctor Bob's Nightmare) p. 180

Thought to Ponder
What is now proved was once only imagined.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Answer Available

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

Intentional attention

by Ralph Marston

Pay attention, but choose where and in what way you pay that attention. Don’t allow your attention to be stolen from you.

Know your purpose, know your values. Know your truth and your intentions.

The most insidious threats to your well being are not physical. They are mental, psychological, emotional, and they are very real, highly destructive.

Your attention is worth more to you than any amount of money. When you spend it, be sure to get something equally valuable in return.

Pay attention in ways that support and promote and nourish what’s most important to you. Fulfill the maximum potential of your attention by taking complete responsibility for it.

Pay your precious attention in ways that make you a more positive, creative, generous, fulfilled person. Pay attention with firmness and excellence in your intention, and make yourself a great life out of it.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 11-6-2020

Friday, November 6, 2020

Today's Gift

This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou 'canst not then be false to any man. —William Shakespeare

True to Ourselves

To thine own self be true. A grounding statement for those of us who get caught up in the storm of needs and feelings of others.

Listen to the self. What do we need? Are those needs getting met? What do we feel? What do we need to do to take care of our feelings? What are our feelings telling us about ourselves and the direction we need to go?

What do we want to do or say? What are our instincts telling us? Trust them - even if they don't make sense or meet other people's rules and expectations.

Sometimes, the demands of other people and our confused expectations of ourselves - the messages about our responsibilities toward others - can create a tremendous, complicated mess.

We can even convince ourselves that people pleasing, going against our nature and not being honest, is the kind, honest thing to do!

Not true. Simplify. Back to basics. Let go of the confusion. By honoring and respecting ourselves, we will be true to those around us, even if we displease them momentarily.

To thine own self be true. Simple words describing a powerful task that can put us back on track.

Today, I will honor, cherish, and love myself. When confused about what to do, I will be true to myself. I will break free of the hold others, and their expectations, have on me.

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

There are no precedents. You are the first You that ever was. ~Christopher Morley

We often compare ourselves to other people, and we usually come out poorly. We may not realize that what we’re doing is harmful; we may think comparisons help us know ourselves better. “Her relationship is so good compared to mine. He works the Steps better than I do. She looks great; I look terrible.” The comparisons go on and on.

Comparisons are an intellectual exercise, and as recovering men and women, we can put our intellects to better use. Security comes from an inner sense of self-acceptance, which grows every day we are in recovery. We will never discover who we are by comparing ourselves to anyone else. When we compare ourselves to others, we usually feel worse about ourselves. Comparing ourselves strips away our uniqueness and sets up a false standard we think we should meet. We are who we are. There is only one of each of us. We don’t need to compare ourselves to anyone.

Action for the Day: If I am comparing myself to others, I will remind myself that I am unique.

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

Gravely Affected
To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time
nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women.
Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone
beyond recall in a few years. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly
insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 33

Thought to Ponder
When we try to control our drinking, we have already lost control.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F E A R = Face Everything And Recover

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

Find positive energy

by Ralph Marston

Explore the far reaches of your awareness. Dive into the depths of your existence.

Somewhere in all that is positive energy. Expect to find it and you will.

It won’t be in the first place you look, maybe not even in the fourth or fifth. Yet it is there, and if you persist a little longer, you’ll come across it.

Move your focus quickly away from what drains you, and move on to something else. Somewhere in there, out there, over there, around that particular corner, you’ll find what animates you.

In what you remember, in what you anticipate, in what you love and value, is a treasure trove of positive energy. In old hopes, in new discoveries, something waits to resonate with your highest concept of yourself.

Keep going until you’ve uncovered it, and take your fill. Then share that unique and beautiful positive energy with all of life.

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