"Today's Hope"
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November 16
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.
- Pema Chodron
DAILY REFLECTION
... satisfaction is a lowly thing, how pure a thing is joy.
- Marianne Moore
Our perfectionism generally dashes all hopes of self-satisfaction. But the program is here to show us that we can make progress. We can learn to believe that we are doing any task as well as we need to do it, at this time. Our job is the effort. The outcome is part of a larger plan, one that involves more than ourselves.
We'll find joy when we find acceptance of ourselves and our efforts and the belief that we are spiritual beings whose lives do have purpose and direction.
The wisdom that accompanies spiritual growth offers us security, that which we have sought along many avenues. And when we feel secure, we can trust that the challenges confronting us are purposeful and to our advantage.
One day at a time, one small prayer at a time, moves us even closer to spiritual security. We can look with glad anticipation at our many responsibilities and activities today. They are our opportunities for spiritual security. We can trust our growing inner resources by simply asking for guidance and waiting patiently. It will find us.
I must exercise my prayers if I want the spiritual security where I can find joy. I will ask for guidance with every activity today.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.
- Pema Chodron
DAILY REFLECTION
... satisfaction is a lowly thing, how pure a thing is joy.
- Marianne Moore
Our perfectionism generally dashes all hopes of self-satisfaction. But the program is here to show us that we can make progress. We can learn to believe that we are doing any task as well as we need to do it, at this time. Our job is the effort. The outcome is part of a larger plan, one that involves more than ourselves.
We'll find joy when we find acceptance of ourselves and our efforts and the belief that we are spiritual beings whose lives do have purpose and direction.
The wisdom that accompanies spiritual growth offers us security, that which we have sought along many avenues. And when we feel secure, we can trust that the challenges confronting us are purposeful and to our advantage.
One day at a time, one small prayer at a time, moves us even closer to spiritual security. We can look with glad anticipation at our many responsibilities and activities today. They are our opportunities for spiritual security. We can trust our growing inner resources by simply asking for guidance and waiting patiently. It will find us.
I must exercise my prayers if I want the spiritual security where I can find joy. I will ask for guidance with every activity today.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Location: Midwest
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November 17
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
God can't hand you anything new until you let go of what you're holding onto.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
One way to become enthusiastic is to look for the plus sign. To make progress in any difficult situation, you have to start with what's right about it and build on that.
- Norman Vincent Peale
Beginning our days with a positive mental outlook is a great depression chaser. Simply lifting our heads and looking up and out instead of down will make us feel better. Although we can't spend all our time staring at the sky, we can train ourselves to look for the best in ourselves and others.
Even in the middle of difficulty or pain, we have choices. We can choose a gloom-and-doom attitude and endlessly replay the thoughts that accompany it. Or we can step back and find the one good thing. We may be blinded with pain. The situation may appear hopeless, utterly bleak. But recovery guarantees that we are equal to it; that in our pain there is at least one good thing.
We are the masters of our fate. We can change even the most difficult situations with an attitude of hope and positive expectation. Approaching each day with a hopeful heart will give us a different approach to our troubles.
Today help me find the one good thing. Help me let go of fear and negativity.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
God can't hand you anything new until you let go of what you're holding onto.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
One way to become enthusiastic is to look for the plus sign. To make progress in any difficult situation, you have to start with what's right about it and build on that.
- Norman Vincent Peale
Beginning our days with a positive mental outlook is a great depression chaser. Simply lifting our heads and looking up and out instead of down will make us feel better. Although we can't spend all our time staring at the sky, we can train ourselves to look for the best in ourselves and others.
Even in the middle of difficulty or pain, we have choices. We can choose a gloom-and-doom attitude and endlessly replay the thoughts that accompany it. Or we can step back and find the one good thing. We may be blinded with pain. The situation may appear hopeless, utterly bleak. But recovery guarantees that we are equal to it; that in our pain there is at least one good thing.
We are the masters of our fate. We can change even the most difficult situations with an attitude of hope and positive expectation. Approaching each day with a hopeful heart will give us a different approach to our troubles.
Today help me find the one good thing. Help me let go of fear and negativity.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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November 18
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
A smile that begins as an effort and a pretense quickly grows to become genuine, and given time, a habit of happiness.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
DAILY REFLECTION
Our silence can keep us isolated. "Still waters run deep" may be true for lakes and rivers, but in intimate relationships it is not necessarily true. Our silence can keep us isolated from ourselves and from those we love. In order to grow together, we must let each other know how we think and feel. Sometimes just saying a thought or feeling helps us see beyond it.
If we keep our thoughts to ourselves, we may get so immersed in those still waters that we nearly drown in them. A problem kept to ourselves usually grows bigger and more consuming. When we talk about it, we can work through it and move on to something else.
Choose one concern, small or large, and express it to your partner.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
A smile that begins as an effort and a pretense quickly grows to become genuine, and given time, a habit of happiness.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
DAILY REFLECTION
Our silence can keep us isolated. "Still waters run deep" may be true for lakes and rivers, but in intimate relationships it is not necessarily true. Our silence can keep us isolated from ourselves and from those we love. In order to grow together, we must let each other know how we think and feel. Sometimes just saying a thought or feeling helps us see beyond it.
If we keep our thoughts to ourselves, we may get so immersed in those still waters that we nearly drown in them. A problem kept to ourselves usually grows bigger and more consuming. When we talk about it, we can work through it and move on to something else.
Choose one concern, small or large, and express it to your partner.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Location: Midwest
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November 19
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
You aren't responsible for anyone's happiness but your own.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
Faith
When I falter in my faith I falter on my path. If I allow myself to wallow in self-pity or become consumed with despair, I fall short of the plans that my Higher Power holds for me.
By making a conscious effort to keep a daily contact with God through prayer and quiet reflection, I choose to walk in faith instead of wandering in chaos and pain.
When I find myself becoming overwhelmed with my day-to-day life, consumed with questions and concerns and lost for answers, I must make time to connect with my Higher Power and renew my faith in his plan.
Dear God, help me to stay close to you. Help me to walk in faith and hope as I let go of pain and despair.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
You aren't responsible for anyone's happiness but your own.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
Faith
When I falter in my faith I falter on my path. If I allow myself to wallow in self-pity or become consumed with despair, I fall short of the plans that my Higher Power holds for me.
By making a conscious effort to keep a daily contact with God through prayer and quiet reflection, I choose to walk in faith instead of wandering in chaos and pain.
When I find myself becoming overwhelmed with my day-to-day life, consumed with questions and concerns and lost for answers, I must make time to connect with my Higher Power and renew my faith in his plan.
Dear God, help me to stay close to you. Help me to walk in faith and hope as I let go of pain and despair.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Location: Midwest
Posts: 11,481
November 20
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
DAILY REFLECTION
There is no closer bond than the one that gratefulness celebrates, the bond between giver and thanks-giver. Everything is a gift. Grateful living is a celebration of the universal give-and-take of life, a limitless yes to belonging. Can our world survive without gratefulness? Whatever the answer, one thing is certain: to say an unconditional yes to the mutual belonging of all beings will make this a more joyful world. This is the reason why Yes is my favorite synonym for God.
- David Steindl-Rast
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
DAILY REFLECTION
There is no closer bond than the one that gratefulness celebrates, the bond between giver and thanks-giver. Everything is a gift. Grateful living is a celebration of the universal give-and-take of life, a limitless yes to belonging. Can our world survive without gratefulness? Whatever the answer, one thing is certain: to say an unconditional yes to the mutual belonging of all beings will make this a more joyful world. This is the reason why Yes is my favorite synonym for God.
- David Steindl-Rast
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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November 21
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
- Melody Beattie
DAILY REFLECTION
Loving Me
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
- Carl Jung
When I am irritated about something, it is an opportunity for me to grow. I can grow spiritually by taking responsibility for my feelings and set boundaries while I work through them.
That is to say, when something irritates me, it is often because it is triggering a fear from my past. For example, when I hear someone yelling angrily, I feel the need to get away immediately because it triggers fears from my youth when I was angrily yelled at.
When I did my 4th Step and realized why I react this way, I was able to then respect my feelings. While I was was working through this fear, I was able to set the boundary with loved ones that if they started yelling, I would stop the conversation and ask to take a break until we’re in better mindsets to discuss that topic. By continuing to work the Steps, set the boundary, and respect and love myself enough to let myself feel my fear as I work through it.
In this way, I was able to grow by learning to love myself.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
- Melody Beattie
DAILY REFLECTION
Loving Me
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
- Carl Jung
When I am irritated about something, it is an opportunity for me to grow. I can grow spiritually by taking responsibility for my feelings and set boundaries while I work through them.
That is to say, when something irritates me, it is often because it is triggering a fear from my past. For example, when I hear someone yelling angrily, I feel the need to get away immediately because it triggers fears from my youth when I was angrily yelled at.
When I did my 4th Step and realized why I react this way, I was able to then respect my feelings. While I was was working through this fear, I was able to set the boundary with loved ones that if they started yelling, I would stop the conversation and ask to take a break until we’re in better mindsets to discuss that topic. By continuing to work the Steps, set the boundary, and respect and love myself enough to let myself feel my fear as I work through it.
In this way, I was able to grow by learning to love myself.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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November 21
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.
- Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
DAILY REFLECTION
Simple Things
Over the years it is the simple things, the small moments of joy, that keep me moving forward and my heart full of faith. When I find myself saddened by loss, I remember these moments and find happiness in the thoughts: A time when I sat and laughed with someone I loved, a moment when I held my children while they slept snuggled warm within my arms, staring out across a lake and listening to the sound of the wind across the water.
These are the moments I hold dear in my heart.
It is when I am at my lowest that I can recall these simple things, these small moments of joy, these memories that I hold so dear in my heart, and I find hope and faith and gratitude in what my Higher Power has given me and what my Higher Power will soon bring to me.
Dear God, thank you for the simple things, for the memories of those I love and all they have given to me.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.
- Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
DAILY REFLECTION
Simple Things
Over the years it is the simple things, the small moments of joy, that keep me moving forward and my heart full of faith. When I find myself saddened by loss, I remember these moments and find happiness in the thoughts: A time when I sat and laughed with someone I loved, a moment when I held my children while they slept snuggled warm within my arms, staring out across a lake and listening to the sound of the wind across the water.
These are the moments I hold dear in my heart.
It is when I am at my lowest that I can recall these simple things, these small moments of joy, these memories that I hold so dear in my heart, and I find hope and faith and gratitude in what my Higher Power has given me and what my Higher Power will soon bring to me.
Dear God, thank you for the simple things, for the memories of those I love and all they have given to me.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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November 23
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.
- Brian Tracy
DAILY REFLECTION
Sometimes two minuses make a plus.
- Edith Shannon
What appears to be a problem sometimes turns out to be a most beneficial circumstance. We live only in the present, and it generally takes the perspective of hindsight to get the full meaning of an event. Over the years, we have learned that some of our best lessons actually caused us pain while we were in their clutches. What a relief to be able to see, now, that they had their silver lining. This principle still holds true.
We have had a lot of years to learn to take our experiences in stride, giving them no more weight than they deserve. But it's easy to forget that it's the accumulation of them all that defines who we are. The lost jobs, the friends who left, the hurdles in a marriage all played their part in the people we've become today. We are who we need to be right now.
I can't let a setback set me back today. I am evolving right on schedule.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.
- Brian Tracy
DAILY REFLECTION
Sometimes two minuses make a plus.
- Edith Shannon
What appears to be a problem sometimes turns out to be a most beneficial circumstance. We live only in the present, and it generally takes the perspective of hindsight to get the full meaning of an event. Over the years, we have learned that some of our best lessons actually caused us pain while we were in their clutches. What a relief to be able to see, now, that they had their silver lining. This principle still holds true.
We have had a lot of years to learn to take our experiences in stride, giving them no more weight than they deserve. But it's easy to forget that it's the accumulation of them all that defines who we are. The lost jobs, the friends who left, the hurdles in a marriage all played their part in the people we've become today. We are who we need to be right now.
I can't let a setback set me back today. I am evolving right on schedule.
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
November 24
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
I Receive ALL of Life with Thanksgiving - I have gratitude for EVERYTHING that has ever occurred to bring me to this moment. I give thanks for the joys and the sufferings, the moments of peace and the flashes of anger, the compassion and the indifference, the roar of my courage and the cold sweat of my fear. I accept gratefully the entirety of my past and my present life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
DAILY REFLECTION
Serenity
Your body is tense. Your face is somber and serious, ready to deliver the news. You may be slightly breathless. There's a crisis. It may be real. Or it may be self-created.
Like an audience in a sports arena, we watch the events of life or even The Weather Channel drumming up reactive responses. Fear. Sometimes panic. Oh my God, what if.
I called my daughter in this frame of mind one morning, ready to report on the latest current event in my life. I barely had three words out of my mouth when she interrupted me. "You're talking in your drama-addiction tone."
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." I've probably said this prayer out loud a thousand times, and silently twice that amount. It's called the Serenity Prayer, not the Courage Prayer, not the Wisdom Prayer. That is because, no matter what we're doing, before we receive courage or wisdom, serenity needs to come first.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
I Receive ALL of Life with Thanksgiving - I have gratitude for EVERYTHING that has ever occurred to bring me to this moment. I give thanks for the joys and the sufferings, the moments of peace and the flashes of anger, the compassion and the indifference, the roar of my courage and the cold sweat of my fear. I accept gratefully the entirety of my past and my present life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
DAILY REFLECTION
Serenity
Your body is tense. Your face is somber and serious, ready to deliver the news. You may be slightly breathless. There's a crisis. It may be real. Or it may be self-created.
Like an audience in a sports arena, we watch the events of life or even The Weather Channel drumming up reactive responses. Fear. Sometimes panic. Oh my God, what if.
I called my daughter in this frame of mind one morning, ready to report on the latest current event in my life. I barely had three words out of my mouth when she interrupted me. "You're talking in your drama-addiction tone."
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." I've probably said this prayer out loud a thousand times, and silently twice that amount. It's called the Serenity Prayer, not the Courage Prayer, not the Wisdom Prayer. That is because, no matter what we're doing, before we receive courage or wisdom, serenity needs to come first.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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November 25
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
There are no mistakes, just learning experiences.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you, and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can only take one step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here. We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes easier the next step - each step puts us on more solid ground.
I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them in the past. I will do so again.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
There are no mistakes, just learning experiences.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you, and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can only take one step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here. We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes easier the next step - each step puts us on more solid ground.
I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them in the past. I will do so again.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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Posts: 11,481
November 26
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less often.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
We are what we are.
- Motto of Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor
Sometimes we devote so much effort to being what we are not that we lose the chance to be what we are. We have one identity for this person and another for that one. Our co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family all expect different things of us, leaving us wondering who we actually are. How can we be so many different things to so many people?
God wants us to be only who we are. We were created with unique characteristics for a purpose, even if that purpose isn't always clear to us. We need to be who we really are and to be the best we can be, knowing that God approves because God created us as we are.
I will be the best me that I know how to be.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
This is posted from the "Today's Hope" site of Alanon.
DAILY SLOGAN/SAYING
Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less often.
- Heard in a meeting
DAILY REFLECTION
We are what we are.
- Motto of Lake Wobegon, Garrison Keillor
Sometimes we devote so much effort to being what we are not that we lose the chance to be what we are. We have one identity for this person and another for that one. Our co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family all expect different things of us, leaving us wondering who we actually are. How can we be so many different things to so many people?
God wants us to be only who we are. We were created with unique characteristics for a purpose, even if that purpose isn't always clear to us. We need to be who we really are and to be the best we can be, knowing that God approves because God created us as we are.
I will be the best me that I know how to be.
Daily share from the forum can be found here: Today's Sharing - Today's Hope
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