You
are reading from the book Today's Gift.
More majestic than a cardinal, as shining as a pyx. --Gustave Flaubert
What in the world is a pyx? If we don't have an expert nearby, we'll
have to look in a book. There we'll find it defined, explained, fixed.
Now what in the world is love? It doesn't live in a tree or a book, so
where in the world do we look? Can we find love in the house, maybe
swept under the rug? Can we know the feel of it in our hands, see it
written on the lines of faces we know? Does it make a sound--maybe
laugh and cry? Does it know how to speak, form words carefully, write
letters? Is it only written on the heart?
We find love inside us, and our love seeks itself out in others. We
find it in the familiar footfall of a brother or sister, the sound of a
parent's voice in the next room, and yet, too often we don't express it
directly. When we do, our love thrives in all we do together.
What does love have to do with the ordinary facts of life?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The work will teach you how to do it. --Estonian proverb
We learn this spiritual program as we learned to ride a bike or to
swim. We could never get it from reading a book. We only learn it by
doing it and by following the example of others. As we first entered
the program, we may have thought, "Oh I understand this. In twelve
meetings I'll have it licked."
Many men have had difficulty trusting, so we try to understand
everything before we get involved in it. But as long as we try to
figure it out first, we remain on the outside looking in. Doing the
practical things in this program - taking inventories and making
amends, praying for guidance from our Higher Power, carrying the
message to others, selecting a sponsor, will teach us the essentials
for spiritual recovery.
Today, I will take the risk of learning by living the spiritual life.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
It is only the women whose eyes have been washed clear with tears who
get the broad vision that makes them little sisters to all the world.
--Dorothy Dix
The storms of our lives benefit us like the storms that hit our towns
and homes and wash clean the air we breathe. Our storms bring to the
surface the issues that plague us. Perhaps we still fear a job with
responsibilities. Perhaps we still struggle with the significant other
persons in our lives. Possessiveness is a particular storm that often
haunts our progress. Storms force us to acknowledge these liabilities
that continue to stand in our way, and acknowledgment is the step
necessary to letting go.
Recovery is a whole series of storms, storms that help to sprout new
growth, storms that flush clean our own clogged drains. The peace that
comes after a storm is worth singing about.
Each storm can be likened to a rung on the ladder to wholeness, the
ladder to full membership in the healthy human race. The storms make
climbing tough, but we get strength with each step. The next storm will
be more easily weathered.
If today is a stormy day, let me remember it will freshen the air I
breathe.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Self Love
I woke up this morning and I had a hard time for a while, said one
recovering man. Then I realized it was because I wasn't liking myself
very much. Recovering people often say: I just don't like myself. When
will I start liking myself?
The answer is: start now. We can learn to be gentle, loving, and
nurturing with ourselves. Of all the recovery behaviors were striving
to attain, loving ourselves may be the most difficult, and the most
important. If we are habitually harsh and critical toward ourselves,
learning to be gentle with ourselves may require dedicated effort.
But what a valuable venture!
By not liking ourselves, we may be perpetuating the discounting,
neglect, or abuse we received in childhood from the important people in
our life. We didn't like what happened then, but find ourselves copying
those who mistreated us by treating ourselves poorly.
We can stop the pattern. We can begin giving ourselves the loving,
respectful treatment we deserve.
Instead of criticizing ourselves, we can tell ourselves we performed
well enough.
We can wake up in the morning and tell ourselves we deserve a good day.
We can make a commitment to take good care of ourselves throughout the
day.
We can recognize that were deserving of love. We can do loving things
for ourselves.
We can love other people and let them love us.
People who truly love themselves do not become destructively self
centered. They do not abuse others. They do not stop growing and
changing. People who love themselves well, learn to love others well
too. They continually grow into healthier people, learning that their
love was appropriately placed.
Today, I will love myself. If I get caught in the old pattern of not
liking myself, I will find a way to get out.
I begin my day with quiet time, finding peace and serenity in my
mediation. I carry those feelings with me wherever I am. If anything
happens to disturb this peace, I can stop and spend a few minutes with
my breath and regain my serenity. --Ruth Fishel