You
are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing
or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth
all the suffering and effort which life implies. . . . --Erich Fromm
A robin comes alive by breaking out of its shell. The small bird
struggles to break out of the safety of the blue egg. Once out, it
struggles to grow, slowly learning how to eat, walk, and fly.
We, too, struggle as we grow. There is brokenness in all of our
lives--broken hearts and broken dreams. Yet these experiences open our
way to a world of growing. We find comfort in the presence of a Power
greater than ourselves, in the same way a baby bird finds warmth near
the body of its mother. We, too, can grow stronger every day, learning
to take in nourishment and trying out our new wings.
What struggles have made me as strong as I am today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Everyone is a bore to someone. That is unimportant. The thing to avoid
is being a bore to oneself. --Gerald Brenan
As teenagers most of us were very self-conscious and concerned about
how we looked to others. That was a normal stage in development. But,
for many of us, our addictions began at that age, or the addictions of
others affected us. Our emotional development stopped. We didn't
develop an inner reference point, a relationship with our Higher Power
that influenced us and helped us weigh other people's opinions.
In recovery, we resumed our emotional and spiritual development where
it had stopped. It is liberating to know that how we feel about
something is important. We can follow our interests and pursue our
commitments. We need not be ruled by others' feelings. With our regular
pattern of taking our inventory, praying, and meditating, we are
developing a relationship with ourselves which builds character and
maturity.
Today, I will give importance to how I feel, what I believe, and what
is interesting to me.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Our friends were not unearthly beautiful, Nor spoke with tongues of
gold; our lovers blundered now and again when we most sought perfection
. . . --Adrienne Rich
So often our expectations exceed reality. We want more than we have;
our homes, our loved ones, perhaps our jobs seem not to measure up. "If
only"--we say to ourselves. The time has come to quit saying "if only"
and be glad, instead, for what is.
We are recovering. We do have friends and family who care about us. We
do have exactly what we need at this moment.
We each can make a contribution today for the good of someone else and
thus for ourselves. And in the act of looking to this day--to giving
something to another human being--we will sense the inner perfection we
mistakenly long for in our outer selves.
I can look around me today and be thankful. I will tell someone close
that I'm glad we share one another's world.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Getting Needs Met
I want to change careers. . . . I need a friend. . . .Im ready to be in
a relationship. . . .
Regularly, we become aware of new needs. We may need to change our
behavior with our children. We may need a new couch, love and
nurturing, a dollar, or help.
Do not be afraid to recognize a want or need. The birth of a want or
need, the temporary frustration from acknowledging a need before its
met, is the start of the cycle of receiving what we want. We follow
this by letting go, then receiving that which we want and need.
Identifying our needs is preparation for good things to come.
Acknowledging our needs means we are being prepared and drawn to that
which will meet them. We can have faith to stand in that place in
between.
Today, I will let go of my belief that my needs never get met. I will
acknowledge my wants and needs, then turn them over to my Higher Power.
My Higher Power cares, sometimes about the silliest little things, if I
do. My wants and needs are not an accident. God created me, and all my
desires.
Change is an action step and I am taking new action today to bring
positive change to my life. I know longer accept the unacceptable ways
that no longer work for me. --Ruth Fishel