"Today's Hope"
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May 27
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don't collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don't really mean anything.
- Norman Lear
DAILY REFLECTION:
Communication
Many of us achieve only the semblance of communication with others; what we say is often not contingent on what the other has just said, and neither of us is aware that we are not communicating.
- Desy Safan-Gerard
When we don't listen fully to each other, when we don't revere the Spirit within others that's trying to talk to us, we destroy the connection that wants to be made between our Spirits. Our inner selves have messages to give and messages to receive for the good of all. Our ego selves often keep us from hearing the very words that would unravel a problem in our lives.
How hard it is, how often, to be still and to fully listen to the words, rather than the person. How much more familiar it is to filter the message with our own ongoing inner dialogue - our own ongoing continual assessment of another's personhood at the very time our higher power is trying to reach us through them.
There really are no wasted words. Messages are everywhere. We can learn to listen.
I will hear just what I need to hear today. I will open myself fully to the words.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don't collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don't really mean anything.
- Norman Lear
DAILY REFLECTION:
Communication
Many of us achieve only the semblance of communication with others; what we say is often not contingent on what the other has just said, and neither of us is aware that we are not communicating.
- Desy Safan-Gerard
When we don't listen fully to each other, when we don't revere the Spirit within others that's trying to talk to us, we destroy the connection that wants to be made between our Spirits. Our inner selves have messages to give and messages to receive for the good of all. Our ego selves often keep us from hearing the very words that would unravel a problem in our lives.
How hard it is, how often, to be still and to fully listen to the words, rather than the person. How much more familiar it is to filter the message with our own ongoing inner dialogue - our own ongoing continual assessment of another's personhood at the very time our higher power is trying to reach us through them.
There really are no wasted words. Messages are everywhere. We can learn to listen.
I will hear just what I need to hear today. I will open myself fully to the words.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
May 28
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
The quality of my life continues to improve as I apply the Al-Anon program not only to crisis situations but to my everyday life.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
Being Grounded in Reality
Oftentimes my head is so focused on future events that I forget to remain grounded in the present. It seems sometimes that my life becomes a succession of: the next thing I have to do, the next big event, or a magical time when everything will be just as it should be.
Well, that isn't reality. Reality is right here in front of me.
It is paying attention to my fingers on the keyboard as I type: focusing on putting my thoughts into words. It is me, here in the moment, savoring the time I have right now. When I find myself living "up in my head" or thinking about numerous chores, commitments or events on my horizon, I must center myself and maintain balance by bringing myself back into the present.
Note a cool breeze, a bird as it flies past, or a neighbor waving hello, because this is life, and life moves quickly. I must live for these moments. They may be the only ones I have. I must find joy in the day-to-day.
Dear God, help me to stay grounded in the present. Help me to be in the moment and cherish what joys I find there.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
The quality of my life continues to improve as I apply the Al-Anon program not only to crisis situations but to my everyday life.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
Being Grounded in Reality
Oftentimes my head is so focused on future events that I forget to remain grounded in the present. It seems sometimes that my life becomes a succession of: the next thing I have to do, the next big event, or a magical time when everything will be just as it should be.
Well, that isn't reality. Reality is right here in front of me.
It is paying attention to my fingers on the keyboard as I type: focusing on putting my thoughts into words. It is me, here in the moment, savoring the time I have right now. When I find myself living "up in my head" or thinking about numerous chores, commitments or events on my horizon, I must center myself and maintain balance by bringing myself back into the present.
Note a cool breeze, a bird as it flies past, or a neighbor waving hello, because this is life, and life moves quickly. I must live for these moments. They may be the only ones I have. I must find joy in the day-to-day.
Dear God, help me to stay grounded in the present. Help me to be in the moment and cherish what joys I find there.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
May 29
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead
DAILY REFLECTION:
I was so mixed up I tried to be perfect at avoiding perfectionism!
- Kathryn G.
Oh, the struggle with perfectionism! Of all the clubs we can use to beat ourselves with, that one may be the worst. With all the "musts," "must nots," "shoulds," and "should nots" we demand of ourselves it's a wonder we can get through some days at all.
One woman said she called one of her cats by the other cat's name and as a result spent the next two hours depressed. Most of us don't go that far with perfectionism, but we still make unreasonable demands of ourselves.
The "one year" test is a good one for perfectionism: "If I (fill in the blank), what difference will it make in a year?" Some things will be important in a year. Making meetings, contacting our sponsor, communing with our Higher Power, and being honest with ourselves and others are all important. And we should be concerned when we fail. But more often we punish ourselves for the little failures - forgetting someone's name or saying the "wrong thing." These are the "crimes" we remember the most. But now we can learn to forgive ourselves and concentrate on what's really important: our new lives in recovery.
Today, help me remember what's important. Help me forgive myself for minor mistake.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead
DAILY REFLECTION:
I was so mixed up I tried to be perfect at avoiding perfectionism!
- Kathryn G.
Oh, the struggle with perfectionism! Of all the clubs we can use to beat ourselves with, that one may be the worst. With all the "musts," "must nots," "shoulds," and "should nots" we demand of ourselves it's a wonder we can get through some days at all.
One woman said she called one of her cats by the other cat's name and as a result spent the next two hours depressed. Most of us don't go that far with perfectionism, but we still make unreasonable demands of ourselves.
The "one year" test is a good one for perfectionism: "If I (fill in the blank), what difference will it make in a year?" Some things will be important in a year. Making meetings, contacting our sponsor, communing with our Higher Power, and being honest with ourselves and others are all important. And we should be concerned when we fail. But more often we punish ourselves for the little failures - forgetting someone's name or saying the "wrong thing." These are the "crimes" we remember the most. But now we can learn to forgive ourselves and concentrate on what's really important: our new lives in recovery.
Today, help me remember what's important. Help me forgive myself for minor mistake.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
May 30
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.
- Cicero
DAILY REFLECTION:
Happiness Within
Some pursue happiness. Others create it within themselves.
- Anonymous
When I wait for someone else to make me happy, I am doomed to a lifetime of unhappiness. I have learned that I cannot condition my attitude on other people. It is not their role in life to make me happy, nor is it generally their goal. Equally, nobody else can make me unhappy. I may not agree with or like someone else’s actions or opinions, but the way I react to them is my choice. Whenever I say “you made me sad”, I am giving up my right to control my own life and handing that power over to someone else. I choose to keep my life in my hands, and in the hands of my higher power.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.
- Cicero
DAILY REFLECTION:
Happiness Within
Some pursue happiness. Others create it within themselves.
- Anonymous
When I wait for someone else to make me happy, I am doomed to a lifetime of unhappiness. I have learned that I cannot condition my attitude on other people. It is not their role in life to make me happy, nor is it generally their goal. Equally, nobody else can make me unhappy. I may not agree with or like someone else’s actions or opinions, but the way I react to them is my choice. Whenever I say “you made me sad”, I am giving up my right to control my own life and handing that power over to someone else. I choose to keep my life in my hands, and in the hands of my higher power.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
May 31
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life. - William Arthur Ward
DAILY REFLECTION:
A Moment of Clarity
It amazes me how I will struggle so hard and for so long with a particular problem and suddenly, when I least expect it, comes a moment of clarity. It appears in my own "aha!" thought, in the words of a dear friend or an image I see on TV. It can be something, anything, that somehow drives me to finally connect the dots. When it happens I always feel like saying to myself, "I can't believe you didn't see this sooner!", but the truth is that, without the journey, there is no moment of clarity. It is a series of events that leads me to that moment and it is my Higher Power that brings me to clarity exactly when I am ready to accept it.
Dear God, help me to be aware and in the moment so that when clarity finally arrives, I am willing to move on and away from my past problems.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life. - William Arthur Ward
DAILY REFLECTION:
A Moment of Clarity
It amazes me how I will struggle so hard and for so long with a particular problem and suddenly, when I least expect it, comes a moment of clarity. It appears in my own "aha!" thought, in the words of a dear friend or an image I see on TV. It can be something, anything, that somehow drives me to finally connect the dots. When it happens I always feel like saying to myself, "I can't believe you didn't see this sooner!", but the truth is that, without the journey, there is no moment of clarity. It is a series of events that leads me to that moment and it is my Higher Power that brings me to clarity exactly when I am ready to accept it.
Dear God, help me to be aware and in the moment so that when clarity finally arrives, I am willing to move on and away from my past problems.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 1
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Making decisions based on God’s will for me is far more rewarding in the long run than making them based on other people.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
One of the attributes of love is to bring harmony and order out of chaos.
- Molly Haskell
Have we forgotten how to love in our hurried passage through life? Perhaps we need reminding that love focuses our attention and guides our direction. Our actions aren't hurried and our feelings aren't confused and unraveled when we're loving others and ourselves. Love offers form and enhancement to each moment.
When we experience the love of another, we remember our importance, and theirs, to the circle of life, and we feel encouraged, at times even impelled, to share the enchantment of love with someone new.
When the day's frantic activities crowd the heart's silent places, we must slow our pace and take notice of the loved ones in our presence, there by intent, remembering with them the design that has captured us and given meaning to our lives.
Love creates music from the disharmony of our haphazard life choices. Giving it away is like a song of happiness emerging from our hearts
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Making decisions based on God’s will for me is far more rewarding in the long run than making them based on other people.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
One of the attributes of love is to bring harmony and order out of chaos.
- Molly Haskell
Have we forgotten how to love in our hurried passage through life? Perhaps we need reminding that love focuses our attention and guides our direction. Our actions aren't hurried and our feelings aren't confused and unraveled when we're loving others and ourselves. Love offers form and enhancement to each moment.
When we experience the love of another, we remember our importance, and theirs, to the circle of life, and we feel encouraged, at times even impelled, to share the enchantment of love with someone new.
When the day's frantic activities crowd the heart's silent places, we must slow our pace and take notice of the loved ones in our presence, there by intent, remembering with them the design that has captured us and given meaning to our lives.
Love creates music from the disharmony of our haphazard life choices. Giving it away is like a song of happiness emerging from our hearts
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 2
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Often the greatest joy is to be found not in new things, but in old things seen through new eyes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
DAILY REFLECTION:
Amen
I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.
- C. S. Lewis
To which I say “Amen.” Which, by the way means “and so it is” or “truly”, and seems a very good way to end a prayer. I am still figuring out how to pray, what prayer means for me. I cannot “pray for a pony.” But I can pray as a means of changing myself. I have experienced this power. The power of giving a problem that I have been wrestling with over to my higher power and finding it relieved. I have experienced changes in the way that I live in this world, in the way that I act in this world, in the way that I see this world. Did these changes come from God? Did these changes come through my subconscious mind? Does it matter how it happened, when the fact is that, I prayed, and it did happen? Amen.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Often the greatest joy is to be found not in new things, but in old things seen through new eyes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
DAILY REFLECTION:
Amen
I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.
- C. S. Lewis
To which I say “Amen.” Which, by the way means “and so it is” or “truly”, and seems a very good way to end a prayer. I am still figuring out how to pray, what prayer means for me. I cannot “pray for a pony.” But I can pray as a means of changing myself. I have experienced this power. The power of giving a problem that I have been wrestling with over to my higher power and finding it relieved. I have experienced changes in the way that I live in this world, in the way that I act in this world, in the way that I see this world. Did these changes come from God? Did these changes come through my subconscious mind? Does it matter how it happened, when the fact is that, I prayed, and it did happen? Amen.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 3
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
- Epictetus
DAILY REFLECTION:
The greatest gift we can give another person is the gift of ourselves. When we can share our deepest convictions and failures, our ideals and disillusionment's, our hopes and frustrations, our dreams and despairs, our answers and our questions – then we are loving our neighbors as ourselves as well as "loving our enemies."
A friend put it this way, "If I share the whole of me with you, I share the good as well as the bad. I don't hide anything of myself from you, not in a deep friendship, or a deep marriage for that matter. By sharing some things I hate about myself, I'm loving my inside enemy. I'm telling you I'm still human and have a lot of growing to do. I'd love to tell you about all my good points, it would make me feel a lot better, but it wouldn't be sharing all of me with you."
Today I will concentrate on sharing my insides and outsides with another; I will listen to myself as I talk. I will not be satisfied if I sit on my laurels or wallow in my woes. I will improve myself by becoming aware of how I communicate to others
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
- Epictetus
DAILY REFLECTION:
The greatest gift we can give another person is the gift of ourselves. When we can share our deepest convictions and failures, our ideals and disillusionment's, our hopes and frustrations, our dreams and despairs, our answers and our questions – then we are loving our neighbors as ourselves as well as "loving our enemies."
A friend put it this way, "If I share the whole of me with you, I share the good as well as the bad. I don't hide anything of myself from you, not in a deep friendship, or a deep marriage for that matter. By sharing some things I hate about myself, I'm loving my inside enemy. I'm telling you I'm still human and have a lot of growing to do. I'd love to tell you about all my good points, it would make me feel a lot better, but it wouldn't be sharing all of me with you."
Today I will concentrate on sharing my insides and outsides with another; I will listen to myself as I talk. I will not be satisfied if I sit on my laurels or wallow in my woes. I will improve myself by becoming aware of how I communicate to others
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 4
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Silence is a source of great strength.
- Lao Tzu
DAILY REFLECTION:
"Thinking," said the little boy, "is when your mouth stays shut and your head keeps talking to itself."
- Arkansas Baptist
We need quiet times in order to develop peace and serenity in our lives. We spend most of our days speaking or being spoken to. It's important to set aside time to speak to ourselves. We need to speak to ourselves gently and honestly each day. We need to spend quality time with ourselves to keep in touch with who we are and where we're headed. A diver takes the time for a deep breath and a quiet moment before he jumps, and so it is for us before we jump from one activity to the next. In this way we can honor ourselves and our actions by offering respect for what we've just done, and for what we're about to do.
Today I will have at least one quiet time for myself because I deserve it.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Silence is a source of great strength.
- Lao Tzu
DAILY REFLECTION:
"Thinking," said the little boy, "is when your mouth stays shut and your head keeps talking to itself."
- Arkansas Baptist
We need quiet times in order to develop peace and serenity in our lives. We spend most of our days speaking or being spoken to. It's important to set aside time to speak to ourselves. We need to speak to ourselves gently and honestly each day. We need to spend quality time with ourselves to keep in touch with who we are and where we're headed. A diver takes the time for a deep breath and a quiet moment before he jumps, and so it is for us before we jump from one activity to the next. In this way we can honor ourselves and our actions by offering respect for what we've just done, and for what we're about to do.
Today I will have at least one quiet time for myself because I deserve it.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 5
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one's life.
- Peace Pilgrim
DAILY REFLECTION:
Choice
Choice, not chance, determines one's destiny.
- Unknown
Over the years I've come to consider choice a valuable spiritual word. It is my acknowledgment of choice that has energized my understanding of co-creation. I choose to place my hand in the hand of God. I do believe that God's hand is extended toward me, but I must grab it. It is my choice. If I do not grab the hand of God, or determine not to take the necessary steps in my dance in God, then nothing happens, or nothing creative happens. Spiritually this approach can be very scary; we can choose to destroy our lives. We can choose to remain unhappy.
I affirm that I play a powerful role in my co-creative dance with God.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one's life.
- Peace Pilgrim
DAILY REFLECTION:
Choice
Choice, not chance, determines one's destiny.
- Unknown
Over the years I've come to consider choice a valuable spiritual word. It is my acknowledgment of choice that has energized my understanding of co-creation. I choose to place my hand in the hand of God. I do believe that God's hand is extended toward me, but I must grab it. It is my choice. If I do not grab the hand of God, or determine not to take the necessary steps in my dance in God, then nothing happens, or nothing creative happens. Spiritually this approach can be very scary; we can choose to destroy our lives. We can choose to remain unhappy.
I affirm that I play a powerful role in my co-creative dance with God.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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June 6
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what's wrong in your life, or you can focus on what's right.
- Marianne Williamson
DAILY REFLECTION:
Wow
When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it’s down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is “Wow,” that’s a prayer.…Wonder takes our breath away, and makes room for new breath.
- Anne Lamott, "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers"
I think that the “Wow” experience happens to me more often than I realize or even notice. When I can slow down my racing thoughts and be present just in the moment, I am more likely to fully experience “Wow!” when it occurs. It is “Wow!” that fully connects me to life, that wakes my spirit from its gray doldrums, that reminds me of joy and provides energy to my soul.
May I always be awake to “Wow!”
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what's wrong in your life, or you can focus on what's right.
- Marianne Williamson
DAILY REFLECTION:
Wow
When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it’s down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is “Wow,” that’s a prayer.…Wonder takes our breath away, and makes room for new breath.
- Anne Lamott, "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers"
I think that the “Wow” experience happens to me more often than I realize or even notice. When I can slow down my racing thoughts and be present just in the moment, I am more likely to fully experience “Wow!” when it occurs. It is “Wow!” that fully connects me to life, that wakes my spirit from its gray doldrums, that reminds me of joy and provides energy to my soul.
May I always be awake to “Wow!”
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Posts: 11,481
BKA, I have not heard of her before but just went to the online library site and put 2 of her audiobooks on hold. I'll check her out while driving for my job this week! Thanks for the tip.
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June 7
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
Change is Sometimes Necessary
Despite the fact that many of us live turbulent, chaotic lives, we don't like change. This causes us to seek our security in familiar places, rather than reach out for the unknown that lies ahead.
This may not be real security, however, because familiar places and situations also change. Our resistance to change may simply be the fear of trying something new.
If we find that fear of change is causing us to put up with a situation that's become unsatisfactory, we need to adjust our attitude toward it. While we view change as risky, it may be the necessary route for improvement. Let's start by simply accepting the idea that change is sometimes necessary. After that, we can expect our Higher Power to guide us to the new situations that are right for us.
Today I may find myself fearing change. I'll remind myself that nothing ever stays the same, and that only change can bring the true good I'm always seeking.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
There is no right way to do the wrong thing.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
Change is Sometimes Necessary
Despite the fact that many of us live turbulent, chaotic lives, we don't like change. This causes us to seek our security in familiar places, rather than reach out for the unknown that lies ahead.
This may not be real security, however, because familiar places and situations also change. Our resistance to change may simply be the fear of trying something new.
If we find that fear of change is causing us to put up with a situation that's become unsatisfactory, we need to adjust our attitude toward it. While we view change as risky, it may be the necessary route for improvement. Let's start by simply accepting the idea that change is sometimes necessary. After that, we can expect our Higher Power to guide us to the new situations that are right for us.
Today I may find myself fearing change. I'll remind myself that nothing ever stays the same, and that only change can bring the true good I'm always seeking.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Posts: 11,481
June 8
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.
- Louis L'Amour
DAILY REFLECTION:
Thank You
The scent of spring was as light as goodness, pure and natural, mixed with the smells of mulch and grass and the old-lady perfume of wildflowers. I looked across the wooded canyon at Mount Tamalpais and shouted, “Thank you, Mother,” and would not have cared if someone had come along and heard me.
- Anne Lamott, "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers"
I have had those moments, when mundane beauty breaks through my gray, sullen mood, and changes my day from dark to light. One day, I was complaining to a friend about how awful my life was, about how everything was going wrong and nothing was going right. As I paused, she asked me, “Did anything good happen today?” After a moment, I said, “Well, yes… it was sunny, and the snow on the trees was all sparkly.” Just that small, remembered bit of joy was enough to pull me from my funk and to change my mood for the rest of the day. To my friend, I could only say “Thank you. Thank you so much for reminding me that I can choose to see the dark or to see the light. Thank you.”
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.
- Louis L'Amour
DAILY REFLECTION:
Thank You
The scent of spring was as light as goodness, pure and natural, mixed with the smells of mulch and grass and the old-lady perfume of wildflowers. I looked across the wooded canyon at Mount Tamalpais and shouted, “Thank you, Mother,” and would not have cared if someone had come along and heard me.
- Anne Lamott, "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers"
I have had those moments, when mundane beauty breaks through my gray, sullen mood, and changes my day from dark to light. One day, I was complaining to a friend about how awful my life was, about how everything was going wrong and nothing was going right. As I paused, she asked me, “Did anything good happen today?” After a moment, I said, “Well, yes… it was sunny, and the snow on the trees was all sparkly.” Just that small, remembered bit of joy was enough to pull me from my funk and to change my mood for the rest of the day. To my friend, I could only say “Thank you. Thank you so much for reminding me that I can choose to see the dark or to see the light. Thank you.”
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 9
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Each day, each new moment can be an opportunity to clear the air and start again, fresh and free.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
Caretaking
A very well-known spiritual speaker once said at a lecture: "We love to get in the cage with the gorilla. We climb right in and try to take care of all the problems and then wonder why our arms and legs are being ripped off."
I remember laughing at the thought of it and also the reality: I was doing this almost every day at that time.
I was trying to take care of everyone and everything around me, with no thought for my own well-being, and then wondering why my life was in such a total shambles and why every time I looked in the mirror I found a woman who was worn and frazzled.
To be a nurturer, to be caring, compassionate and empathetic is a gift and a characteristic of myself I value greatly. I feel fortunate to have been raised to think of others when they are in need.
However, I must let other people do what they can for themselves, and accept that if I jump in too quickly and try to "save the day", I am robbing them of their own learning lessons and robbing myself of balance.
Dear God, help me to allow others to grow. Help me to nurture without overstepping my boundaries.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
Each day, each new moment can be an opportunity to clear the air and start again, fresh and free.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION:
Caretaking
A very well-known spiritual speaker once said at a lecture: "We love to get in the cage with the gorilla. We climb right in and try to take care of all the problems and then wonder why our arms and legs are being ripped off."
I remember laughing at the thought of it and also the reality: I was doing this almost every day at that time.
I was trying to take care of everyone and everything around me, with no thought for my own well-being, and then wondering why my life was in such a total shambles and why every time I looked in the mirror I found a woman who was worn and frazzled.
To be a nurturer, to be caring, compassionate and empathetic is a gift and a characteristic of myself I value greatly. I feel fortunate to have been raised to think of others when they are in need.
However, I must let other people do what they can for themselves, and accept that if I jump in too quickly and try to "save the day", I am robbing them of their own learning lessons and robbing myself of balance.
Dear God, help me to allow others to grow. Help me to nurture without overstepping my boundaries.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 10
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
- Tecumseh
DAILY REFLECTION:
Staying in the Moment
Over the last year in my life, I have been watching my ability to stay in the moment improve.
It used to be that I was either despairing over the past or constantly striving to accomplish things which kept me focused on the distant future instead of paying attention to what was right in front of me.
What I have learned? I've learned that the past is the past. There is nothing I can do to change what has happened. I cannot magically go back in time and "fix things."
I can, however, choose to behave differently today.
And the future?
I have faith in what is to come and I believe it is good to have goals, to have things to look forward to, but not if I'm using them to distract myself from the present. The only moment I have is now and it is important to learn to find satisfaction and contentment within it.
I have accomplished many things in my life by setting my sights on the future but often, once I would achieve my success, I would immediately put it to the side and focus on the next goal on the horizon instead of ever stopping to relish in it.
Today I know that wasting my precious time on despairing over what I did in the past, or quickly moving on to "the next big thing," leaves me living in a world that doesn't really exist.
In front of me, right now, is this day.
I need to focus on making the most of it and living it fully, aware of my surroundings and how precious this time truly is.
Dear God, help me to let go of my future and my past and stay firmly focused on the present. Today is the only day I may have... help me to live it to the fullest.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
- Tecumseh
DAILY REFLECTION:
Staying in the Moment
Over the last year in my life, I have been watching my ability to stay in the moment improve.
It used to be that I was either despairing over the past or constantly striving to accomplish things which kept me focused on the distant future instead of paying attention to what was right in front of me.
What I have learned? I've learned that the past is the past. There is nothing I can do to change what has happened. I cannot magically go back in time and "fix things."
I can, however, choose to behave differently today.
And the future?
I have faith in what is to come and I believe it is good to have goals, to have things to look forward to, but not if I'm using them to distract myself from the present. The only moment I have is now and it is important to learn to find satisfaction and contentment within it.
I have accomplished many things in my life by setting my sights on the future but often, once I would achieve my success, I would immediately put it to the side and focus on the next goal on the horizon instead of ever stopping to relish in it.
Today I know that wasting my precious time on despairing over what I did in the past, or quickly moving on to "the next big thing," leaves me living in a world that doesn't really exist.
In front of me, right now, is this day.
I need to focus on making the most of it and living it fully, aware of my surroundings and how precious this time truly is.
Dear God, help me to let go of my future and my past and stay firmly focused on the present. Today is the only day I may have... help me to live it to the fullest.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
June 11
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy.
- Anonymous
DAILY REFLECTION:
Enemies
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people.
= G. K. Chesterton
My spiritual program makes me look to where I am, rather than where I want to be. I live in the now, rather than the never-never land of tomorrow. To love my world, I seek to understand the people who live in it. This entails acceptance of those who are different from me. I must build bridges rather than barriers. It is easy for me to talk about loving and being concerned for the starving millions while forgetting to love and relate to my coworker or neighbor. I have experience with people who are difficult because I lived with my addicted self for many years. I am the key to my enemies.
Teach me to accept in love those who, for today, I do not like.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING:
If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy.
- Anonymous
DAILY REFLECTION:
Enemies
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people.
= G. K. Chesterton
My spiritual program makes me look to where I am, rather than where I want to be. I live in the now, rather than the never-never land of tomorrow. To love my world, I seek to understand the people who live in it. This entails acceptance of those who are different from me. I must build bridges rather than barriers. It is easy for me to talk about loving and being concerned for the starving millions while forgetting to love and relate to my coworker or neighbor. I have experience with people who are difficult because I lived with my addicted self for many years. I am the key to my enemies.
Teach me to accept in love those who, for today, I do not like.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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