The Work-In: Daily Motivation 7-1-2021

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Today's Gift

When you graciously receive, you give others the gift of giving. ― Ray A. Davis

Receiving

Here is an exercise.

Today let someone give to you. Let someone do something nice for you. Let someone give you a compliment or tell you something good about yourself. Let someone help you.

Then, stand there and take it. Take it in. Feel it. Know that you are worthy and deserving. Do not apologize. Do not say, "You shouldn't have." Do you feel guilty, afraid, ashamed, and panicky? Do not immediately try to give something back.

Just say, "Thank you."

Today, I will let myself receive one thing from someone else, and I will let myself be comfortable with that.

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

Giving with no strings attached is true giving.

The disease of addiction is reflected in myriad ways. As we’ve learned, the entire family is affected. We have sought recovery because our behavior causes us problems too. Getting well might be even more difficult for us than for alcoholics or other addicts. Their first step is to give up alcohol or other drugs; ours is to stop most of the behaviors we’ve perfected over the years, behaviors we developed to control and manipulate others.

Giving is one such behavior. Of itself, giving is a very worthy characteristic. However, most of us have used giving as a not so subtle way to control. Too often it worked, at least in the short run, and giving became a tool to get what we wanted. Recovery can help us practice true giving. We might not get from others what we’d like, but we will feel rewarded just the same. Giving up manipulation gives us back our self-worth.

Action for the Day: I will check my motives before giving anything today. If I hope to get something in return, I’ll begin again.

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

In the Stillness
In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause,
ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: "Higher Power grant me the
serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change
the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) pp. 40 - 41

Thought to Ponder
Reliance on my Higher Power enables me to match calamity with serenity.

AA-related 'Alconym'
K I S S = Keep It Serenely Simple

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

Good thoughts

by Ralph Marston

Your thoughts set the direction of your day, of your life. Think power, think action, think gratitude and think positive.

Think of the people you love, and of all the things you can do to support and encourage them. Think of the values that matter most to you, and of what you can do to express, promote and live those values.

Think of how fortunate you are to be alive in this moment. Think of all the knowledge, resources, experience and skills at your disposal right now.

Think of your dreams, your goals, your highest vision for how life can be. Think of all the ways, big and small, you can make a positive difference today.

Think of the beauty you’ve experienced, of the richness you’ve lived, of the good people you’ve encountered. Think of how great it feels to make someone’s life a little brighter.

Fill your awareness with thoughts of goodness, love, joy, beauty and possibility. Let those good thoughts push you forward into action all day long.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-30-2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Today's Gift

There is nothing as easy as denouncing. It don't take much to see that something is wrong, but it takes some eyesight to see what will put it right again. —Will Rogers

We come to this day with a choice of whether to be for something or against it. Shall we put energy into what we seek and admire or shall we give our energy to opposition and resistance of what we dislike? If someone asks a favor, we have a choice to resent and resist the intrusion or to engage with the person and see where it might lead. If a project we are working on is frustrating, we can wallow in criticizing it or try to get a clearer picture of what will work and what we want.

Criticizing may be a helpful first stage in learning, but it is seductive because it holds little risk and we feel safe doing it. In that comfort we forget to go forward to create what we really want. Our negative energy, when we are seduced by it, creates negative results. When we look back upon today, we will admire those choices that risked creating something positive.

Today, I will not give my energy to denouncing but to creating what I believe is worthwhile.

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

Joy fixes us to eternity and pain fixes us to time. But desire and fear hold us in bondage to time, and detachment breaks the bond. --Simone Weil

We live both in the material realm and the spiritual. In our material dimension we seek material pleasures, inherent in which is pain. Our human emotions are tied to our material attachments, and joy, at its fullest, is never found here. Real joy lies outside of the material dimension while living fully within us too, in the secret, small place inside where we always know that all is well.

We are on a trip in this life. And our journey is bringing us closer to full understanding of joy with every sorrowful circumstance. When you or I are one with the Universe, have aligned our will with the will of our Higher Power, we know joy. We know this, fully, that all is well. No harm can befall us.

Each circumstance in the material realm is an opportunity for us to rely on the spiritual realm for direction, security, and understanding. As we turn within, to our spiritual nature, we will know joy.

Today's Action: Every day in every situation I have an opportunity to discover real joy. It's so close and so ready for my invitation.

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

Our Insecurity
The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form
a true partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two
disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist upon dominating the people we know,
or we depend upon them far too much. If we lean too heavily on people,
they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too, and cannot possibly
meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows and festers.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 53

Thought to Ponder
No God, no peace --- know God, know peace.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F R O G = Fully Rely On God

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

Being positive

by Ralph Marston

You cannot instantly change the situation by being positive about it. What you can instantly change is your perspective, and that will give you an enormous advantage.

Even when there’s no good justification for being positive, be positive. Because it is always far superior to the alternative, and gives you maximum power and effectiveness.

Being positive is a choice you can make that will connect you to the best possibilities. Being positive forces you to also be positively creative.

When things are difficult, do you really want to make them even more difficult by being negative? Choose instead to realistically see the situation for what it is, and then to be positive about moving forward from it.

Eventually, somebody is going to change things for the better, and it might as well be you. Think and see and do from a positive perspective and create good, meaningful value.

By being positive you are being powerful, useful, thankful, compassionate, sincere and highly effective. Make the choice to be positive, and truly make the world a better place.

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 6-28-2021

 Monday, June 28, 2021

Today's Gift

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. ~Steve Jobs

As we develop a deeper and more reliable friendship with ourselves, we have little hunches or inner blips of feeling that tell us private truths. Ancient scriptures called it “a still, small voice.” We usually sense this inner message somewhere in our body. Some say it’s in the heart, others say in the gut, or ears, or on their shoulders. When we are too focused on what others think and feel and what the world says is truth, we don’t notice our inner voice; it doesn’t get much chance to develop. It never hits us over the head; it requires silence and respect to be heard.

As we continue our inner growth, we learn to regularly visit our intuitive center and seek its wisdom. The more we listen and the more we respect the truths we receive in our quietness, the more wisdom we are given.

I will listen to the personal wisdom whispered by that still, small voice within.

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 tremor of awe is the best in us. --Goethe

We have a spiritual experience in knowing and being touched by something much larger than us, something beyond what we understand, something of mysterious dimensions. It can happen as we stand on the banks of an ageless river, listen to beautiful music, read scripture, or say a prayer with a friend. When we set aside defiance, willfulness, and our demands to subdue whatever we meet, we become receptive to a larger reality. The experience of awe brings out the best in a us because it instills a spirit of respect and gratitude. It inspires humility and expands our minds into realms we can't express in words.

The sense of awe is a kind of reverence. After we learn where our personal awe is inspired, we can return to it again and again. As we feel it more, we become more open to it in the mundane parts of our daily lives. Today we might feel the spirit in the visit of a wild bird on a branch, the spontaneous "Hi" from a small child, or the stillness before prayer at the dinner table.

Action for the Day: Today, I will look for moments of awe in my life.

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

Pride
For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious
or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties,
the chief block to true progress. Pride lures us into making demands
upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting
or misusing our God-given instincts.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) pp. 48 - 49

Thought to Ponder
Swallowing my pride will not get me drunk.

AA-related 'Alconym'
P R I D E = Pretty Ridiculous Individual Directing Everything

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

Tell yourself

by Ralph Marston

Tell yourself why you must do it, and why you can do it. Tell yourself you will.

Tell yourself you are starting now. And then do as you have told yourself.

In the past, you’ve told yourself about all the excuses you have for not taking action. And indeed those excuses have been effective at preventing your actions.

Going forward, tell yourself why, tell yourself you must, tell yourself you are doing it. You’ll be just as effective at getting yourself into action.

You might pay attention to others and you might not. Yet you always pay attention to yourself.

So give yourself some positive direction and give yourself the confidence, along with a little push, to move in that direction. Tell yourself you’re doing it, and you’ll realize that you are.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-25-2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

Today's Gift

I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches. —Alice Roosevelt Longworth

All too often, we complicate our lives. We can wonder and worry our way into confusion; obsession or preoccupation it's often called. "What if?" "Will they?" "Should I?" "What do you think?" We seldom stop trying to figure out what to do, where to do it, how to meet a challenge, until someone reminds us to "keep it simple."

What we each discover, again and again, is that the solution to any problem becomes apparent when we stop searching for it. The guidance we need for handling any difficulty, great or small, can only come into focus when we remove the barriers to it, and the greatest barrier is our frantic effort to personally solve the problem. We clutter our minds; we pray for an answer and yet don't become quiet enough, for long enough, to become aware of the direction to go, or the steps to take. And they are always there.

Inherent in every problem or challenge is its solution. Our greatest lesson in life may be to keep it simple, to know that no problem stands in our way because no solution eludes a quiet, expectant mind.

I have opportunities every day to still my mind. And the messages I need - will come quietly. My answers are within me, now.

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

Some people greet the morning with a smile, but it's more natural to protest its presence with sleepy sulkiness. "Who asked you to come again?" we feel like saying to it, as if it were a most unwelcome guest. —Brendan Francis

We begin with the truth and build on the firm foundation it provides. We often hear we should have a positive attitude, we should be grateful for the new day. Perhaps some days we feel enthusiasm, and it's wonderful when we do. But we don't need to turn it into a requirement because shoulds tend to keep us out of touch with our honest feelings.

All feelings are acceptable. Whatever they are, the entire range of color and intensity of feelings comes from our Creator. Our task is dealing with them and responding to them. We begin by acknowledging them as they are. We do not have license to do whatever we feel like doing, only to feel what we feel. This point of honesty is a solid stepping-stone to grow from. We often find we feel different as soon as we admit our feelings.

Action for the Day: Today, I will admit my true feelings and accept them as stepping-stones.

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

Continue to Watch
Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not
an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for
selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask
our Higher Power at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately
and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn
our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 84

Thought to Ponder
Sobriety is a gift, the price of which is eternal vigilance.

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

Sufficient time

by Ralph Marston

Sometimes it’s necessary to rush through a task or an experience. Most of the time it’s not, and your excessive haste can be counterproductive.

You deserve the experience of savoring whatever you do. Your work benefits when you can focus on it without the constant pressure to get it finished quickly.

No, that’s not always possible. Yet there are often ways for you to make it possible.

Do what you can to give the important things in your life sufficient time. Time is highly valuable and confers its value to those endeavors upon which it is generously bestowed.

Life unfolds at a certain pace. If you race too far ahead of that pace, you miss out on much of life’s richness.

Give your work, your relationships, your dreams, adventures, and advancements the time they require. Let your life benefit from those treasures that only sufficient time can bring forth.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-24-2021

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Today's Gift

Self-image sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment. —Maxwell Maltz

The way we think about ourselves determines how we behave and who we become. If Eileen believes she is good at baseball, she will swing the bat more confidently and catch fly balls more easily. And her extra effort will generally pay off. At math, Steve thinks he's a whiz and it makes him proud. He studies so he'll continue to be a whiz.

The image we have of ourselves is like the blueprint the contractor follows when building a house. When we see ourselves sad or angry, our behavior and personality will match it. When we see ourselves withdrawn and afraid, we seem to avoid activities that involve others. How wonderful that we can change our behavior and thus ourselves by changing the picture we carry in our minds.

Do I have a good picture of myself 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

It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. ~William James

We all know people who seem to be empty bodies, walking through life. These are the people who never talk about anything personal and never let anyone get to know them. Many of them love to complain about their job, their spouse or partner, their boss, the government, or anything outside themselves. These people will talk about sports or the weather but never about real events or personal experiences.

Many of us have been these people. When we wake up to a real life, we become present; we are alive to our experiences, our sensations, and our feelings. This requires that we drop the shield of deadness and become personal. It involves risk and makes life incredibly interesting.

Action for the Day: Today, I will take the risk to be present to my life in every minute, every hour.

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

First Attempt
We can have faith, yet keep our Higher Power out of our lives. Therefore our problem
now becomes just how and by what specific means shall we be able to
let Them in? Step Three represents our first attempt to do this. In fact,
the effectiveness of the whole A.A. program will rest upon how well
and earnestly we have tried to come to "a decision to turn our will
and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Them."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) pp. 34 - 35

Thought to Ponder
Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F A I T H = Facing All, Intuitively Trusting our Higher Power

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

Your thoughts are your choice

by Ralph Marston

Reality is more than what you think it is. Your thoughts have limitations that you, your existence, reality, and truth do not.

Your thoughts play a powerful role in your life. Yet your thoughts do not constitute the entirety of your life.

You can enable your thoughts to serve you without allowing them to limit you. Indeed, you can specifically direct your thoughts to assist you and not to hinder or distract you.

Notice those thoughts that waste your energy, hold you back, or lead you astray, and just choose to let them go. Take only what’s helpful from each thought that arises and then move on with your experience of life.

Every thought you have is yours to do with as you please. Thoughts influence you only when you let them, and it’s up to you when to let them.

Don’t let your thoughts, or anything else, get in the way of what you know to be true and authentic. Allow the truth of all that is to shine through everything you experience, through all you think and say and do.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-23-2021

Wednesday, June 13, 2021

Today's Gift

. . . How much bondage and suffering a person escapes when they take the liberty of being their own physician of both body and soul. —Elizabeth Cady Stanton

If we listen to ourselves, to the innermost voice of our Spirits, we know that we have the power to heal ourselves. Self-healing begins with making our own decisions-about what we wear, what we do, who we are-and deciding that we will be true to ourselves. With the help of our spiritual guide, we can resist the temptations to betray ourselves, for these temptations are born of fear; the fear that we are not good enough to be our "own physicians."

To give away our powers binds us and causes us to suffer. But we can go to others for help without losing our own strength.

Today and every day, I will meditate for the wisdom to choose wise counselors and the strength to love and heal myself.

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

Each small task of everyday life is part of the total harmony of the universe. ~Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

When we stop to think about it, it becomes clear that we are a tiny part of our Higher Power’s creation. Consider the growing seasons of plants, the daily rising and setting of the sun, the miracles of birth and death. The cycles go on, creating a rhythm, an order in nature.

We can choose to be part of nature’s order. We can eat healthy, exercise, and sleep enough to care for our health. We can keep our living space clean and neat. We can join in the work of life and be part of the human community. We can make it easy by developing good habits.

In order to go with nature’s flow, we need to pay attention. That’s what we do in our daily prayer and meditation. We work on conscious contact with our Higher Power and practice being part of the harmony of nature.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please help me calm down and go with your flow. Help me contribute well to your world.

Today's Action: Today I will think about my basic living tasks. Do I do them well, making a good base for my life?

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

Control and Manipulation
When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires,
they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of
persecution, and a desire to retaliate. As we redouble our efforts at control,
and continue to fail, our suffering becomes acute and constant. We have
not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among friends, to be a
worker among workers, to be a useful member of society.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 53

Thought to Ponder
When I choose the behavior, I choose the consequences.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A G O = Another Growth Opportunity

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

Whatever happens

by Ralph Marston

It is not your job to get upset by whatever happens. Your role is to craft meaning, fulfillment, joy, and goodness from whatever happens.

Life is not the least bit impressed with your pain or inconvenience. Life throws solid challenges at you and expects you to grow stronger, not to sigh and complain.

If you can smile, and you can, do it. If you can get up, get going, and make a difference, do it.

You have right now the immense privilege of being able to choose your next action. Exercise that privilege with positive purpose, with love, gratitude and kindness.

Life is difficult, but not as difficult as you often build it up to be. And anyway, that difficulty confers the very opportunities that give life its great richness.

Accept it all, embrace it all, and go with the best you’ve got, now. Whatever happens is fertile ground for all the good that can be.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-22-2021

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Today's Gift

We see things not as they are, but as we are. ~H. M. Tomlinson

Many days we wake up filled with confidence, enthusiasm, and gratitude for the blessings that have come to us through our recovery. We are even able to see that some of our earlier troubling moments were really blessings in disguise.

Our more positive attitude today changes our understanding of earlier experiences. And that’s the key to how the future will look. If we rely on the Universe’s help, we’ll come to understand all our experiences as opportunities for growth and fulfillment. We can trust them, live through them, and be grateful for their contribution to our spiritual development.

The attitude we harbor is powerful. We can develop a peaceful attitude and keep it for all time if we so desire. The Universe is always available to help us accept the circumstances of our life.

With the Universe’s help I will believe my circumstances are as they should be today.

From In God's Care, Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery ©

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

Remember the Golden Key

Living in the Spirit
Whenever trouble arises, the first thing to do is to turn it over to our Higher Power. We can take all necessary practical steps to solve a problem, but we don't need to decide what the answer may be. Do this, and you'll soon be out of your difficulty.

This is essentially the formula of the Gold Key as taught by Emmet Fox. It is also the core idea of Steps three and Eleven. It is a manner of living one's life with the constant knowledge that a Higher Power is always part of it.

We should also condition ourselves to believe that our Higher Power has been with us all along and will continue to show us the way. Nothing depends on our being "spiritual" or "saintly" or perfect in behavior. With all our shortcomings, we are and ever will be children of the Universe.

Action for the Day: I will remember that my Higher Power is always with me today, supplying whatever I need for the accomplishment of any good purpose.

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

Make a Decision
Therefore, we who are alcoholics can consider ourselves fortunate indeed.
Each of us has had our own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will,
and has suffered enough under its weight to look for something better. So it is
by circumstance rather than any virtue that we have been driven to AA, have
admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments of faith, and now want to make
a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a Higher Power.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) pp. 37 - 38

Thought to Ponder
Take a walk with your Higher Power. They will meet you at the Steps.

AA-related 'Alconym'
W I L L I N G = When I Live Life, I Need a Power Greater than myself

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

Now is what you choose

by Ralph Marston

There was a time when you thought you could change the world. You were right, and you still are.

There was a time when you knew that life was filled with limitless possibilities. It still is, and so are you.

Perhaps you’re dismayed that so much time has passed without much noticeable progress. Yet the longer you’ve waited to move forward, the more quickly and powerfully you can do so when you choose to start.

To change the world, and to fulfill your greatest possibilities, does not require anything from your past. It’s a matter of making a choice, in the present, to act with positive purpose.

Now is the place where your life resides. And now is what you choose to make it.

With a thankful, joyful heart, look around you at the possibilities that stretch out in all directions. Choose one of those possibilities now, and proceed to lovingly give life to it.

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

The Work-In: Daily Motivation 6-21-2021

Monday, June 21, 2021

Today's Gift

The Good Feelings

Let yourself feel the good feelings too.

Yes, sometimes, good feelings can be as distracting as the painful, more difficult ones. Yes, good feelings can be anxiety producing to those of us unaccustomed to them. But go ahead and feel the good feelings anyway.

Feel and accept the joy. The love. The warmth. The excitement. The pleasure. The satisfaction. The elation. The tenderness. The comfort.

Let yourself feel the victory, the delight.

Let yourself feel cared for.

Let yourself feel respected, important, and special.

These are only feelings, but they feel good. They are full of positive, upbeat energy - and we deserve to feel that when it comes our way.

We don't have to repress. We don't have to talk ourselves out of feeling good - not for a moment.

If we feel it, it's ours for the moment. Own it. If it's good, enjoy it.

Today, Higher Power, help me be open to the joy and good feelings available to 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

. . . we could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. --Helen Keller

We chase after joy, like a child after a firefly, being certain that in joy all problems are solved, all questions are answered. Joy has its rewards, and we deserve them. But life has more to teach us.

We need to learn patience; through patience we come to respect time and its passage, and we are mellowed. We need to learn tolerance; through tolerance our appreciation of another's individuality is nurtured. We need to learn self-respect; self-respect prepares us to contribute more freely to our experiences, and we find wholeness.

Life's travails are our opportunities for lasting, enriching joy. The rough spots deepen our understandings. And these help us to bring joy to the lives of the friends near and dear.

Action for the Day: I need not turn my back on joy. But I will be glad for all life's experiences. The panorama will sustain me more fully.

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

Three Pertinent Ideas
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our
personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That our Higher Power could and would if They were sought.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 60

Thought to Ponder
I can't, my Higher Power can, I'll ask Them to.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A B C = Accept, Begin, Continue

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 the feelings

by Ralph Marston

Do more than just longing for the good feelings you’ve known in the past or the ones you hope to feel in the future. Feel those feelings now, where you are.

Allow yourself to love the life you have and the moment you’re in. Let yourself enjoy the beauty in every detail.

Put away any temptation you have to make judgments, or to worry, or to fear. Feel the joy in your good fortune of living life as it is and being able to make a difference.

Instead of just wishing you could feel a certain way, remind yourself that the feeling you seek is yours to choose right now. Instead of depending on circumstances for your feelings, turn it around and let your circumstances flow from your good feelings.

You have power over the way you see life and feel about it. That power makes amazing things possible, for when you are sufficiently motivated you can make amazing things happen.

Go ahead and feel the best you’ve ever felt. Then feel the power, and use it to create new goodness that expresses those good feelings.

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