Today's Gift Daily Reader
 

January 1

The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.

—Hada Bejar

Nothing is more attractive than sharing with others. No trait will be admired as much as generosity. There is no surer way to gain the respect of friends and neighbors than to show by what we give that we care about others. We can give many things besides money, shelter, clothing, or food to those in need. We can give the rich person love and understanding that money can't buy. We can sympathize with those who are troubled, even though they appear wealthier than ourselves. We can share experience, strength, and hope with those who are ill or unhappy. We can even share our suffering with others who suffer, and hold up a light for them on the road to recovery.

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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January 2, 2017
 

Happiness is like manna; it is to be gathered and enjoyed every day.

— Tryon Edwards


Life is like a winding path surrounded by flowers, butterflies, and delicious fruit, but many of us spend much of life looking for happiness around the next corner. We do not bend to enjoy the happiness which is ours for the taking, just at our feet.

In our desire to reach the "pot of gold," the complete and lasting happiness we all want to fill our lives, we ignore anything which doesn't seem worthy of such a large ambition, or which can't give us the whole thing all at once.

Happiness is all around us, but it often comes in small grains. When we gather it grain by grain, we soon have a basketful.

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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January 3, 2017
 

Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.

—Faith Baldwin


Change surrounds us. It lies within us, too. The trees in the yard have changed. They've grown taller. Their leaves die and scatter on the ground in the fall. We don't resemble our baby pictures much anymore, either. Like trees, we've grown up. As babies, we couldn't walk. But we learned to run, ride bikes, and go out alone to movies and parties.

Some changes we don't notice while they're going on. The snow melts; the birds fly south; our hair grows a little every day.

Other changes startle us. A best friend moves away. Perhaps a favorite grandparent dies. These changes we wish hadn't happened, and we have to remember that change is as natural as breathing. We can't keep it from happening, but we can trust that change never means to harm us. It's a sign we're growing up.

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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January 4, 2017
 

A tip-off to an abusive family system is a situation in which nobody ever apologizes.

— Karen Shaud


When we get a tip-off, we can open the door to a whole new way of looking at the world. The tip-off about apologies can help us learn to have a healthier family. It is hard to apologize, but with practice, it will get easier. We are learning that we can make mistakes, and admit them, and that other people will accept our apologies. In the same way, we are learning we can accept others' apologies. Apologies are sometimes hard to make. It helps to keep in mind that we make them as much for ourselves and our own growth as for the person we apologize to. We are not worthless just because we make mistakes, but we increase our value to ourselves and others by being able to recognize them and apologize.

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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. . . and, when the time comes to let it go, let it go.

—Mary Oliver


If we all let go of one thing we like, and take instead each other's hand; if we all let go of three minutes each day, and find instead a few perfect words for someone in the house; if we all withhold our judgments for one hour, and reveal during that time one of our own small secret sins; if we all skip the same meal each week, and spend the time together in the park; would we have less or more than what we started with?

It is one of the great and pleasing mysteries of life that we gain by giving things up. Instead of grabbing things or demanding from others if we give something up, we leave a space for something new to enter our lives.

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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January 6, 2017
 

We, too, the children of the earth, have our moon phases all through any year; the darkness, the delivery from darkness, the waxing and waning.

—Faith Baldwin


Let us think for a moment about the changes of the moon. In the beginning of its cycle, it is just a sliver in the darkness. Each night it grows larger until it reaches its full size. When the moon is full and rising, its orange glow fills the sky. All night its gentle light brightens everything it touches.

But this fullness is only part of the life of the moon. For a while it grows smaller, then turns its dark side toward us before reappearing as a sliver and growing again to fullness. We are children of the earth, and we have our different moods and phases, too. There will be periods of darkness when we try to find our way by the light of the stars. Again and again we will grow to our full size, only to fade and grow again in a new way.

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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January 7, 2017

To affect the quality of the day - that is the highest of the arts.

—Henry David Thoreau


We are the sculptors of our day. We can mold it creatively into a wonderful masterpiece. We control the amount of moisture we mix into our clay. We pound it, shape it, stroke it, and love it. Others can offer suggestions, and we gain new perspectives from their advice, but it is finally our own creation. Our knife may occasionally slip, or our mixture of earth may be too dry. Any great artist suffers temporary setbacks. Besides, imperfections in art often make it all the more interesting.

How creative can I be in my life today?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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January 8, 2017
 

Deep in their roots all flowers keep the light
—Theodore Roethke


All flowers begin with the potential to grow and blossom. Yet in winter, perennial flowers are buried under the snow. Inside the dark earth, they are patiently waiting for their time to bloom. For the flowers, faith is believing that spring will return. It is carrying the light of summer deep in their roots so that even in times of cold and dark, there is hope that they will bloom again.

When spring does return, they shoot out of the ground and burst into blossom. In times of light, they drink it deep into their roots - deep enough to sustain them through the next season of darkness. We can do the same, keeping the memory of good times deep within us, so that when we're feeling low, it will keep our faith in the happy future strong.

What helps sustain my faith today?


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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

I recently came across a Post-it note that I stuck to my calendar on the January page--it says "remember the blackberries of June in the dark of January." And I'm glad I put it there, b/c this is what it reminded me of:

Last June, I took my dogs walking in a local county park almost daily. It's a large park w/a water-filled quarry, miles of trail and acres and acres of woods and fields. June is blackberry time where I live, and they were everywhere. As the dogs stopped to smell things, I picked and ate the shiny, succulent berries, warm from the sun, crunchy little seeds and sweet juice in my mouth. I smelled the scent of good, green, growing things all around me and every cell in my body just rejoiced.

Remembering, I can almost feel the sun on my shoulders and hear the birds calling and insects humming...

I want to be like the flowers and always hold the light in my roots. I loved today's reading.

I just ate the last of my frozen blackberries that I picked myself in August.

I could almost taste the warm earth.

HP, this is another lovely thread and I plan to read it often.

I am drooling for berries, though, nothing but nothing tastes better than a berry we just picked.

:tyou

January 9, 2017
 

Life gives us so much time to collect bizarre thoughts and feelings.

—Claire Weekes


As we go through life, we run into all kinds of negative messages: teasing on the school bus, insulting nicknames, and other put-downs. Pretty soon we may discover that some of these messages stick in our minds, repeating themselves over and over like broken records. These messages can make us feel bad about ourselves.

But when we hear one of these tapes playing inside us, we have the power to push the STOP button. Then we can record a new message. We can even say it out loud, so that our voice settles emphatically into our thoughts. We can't make others stop saying these things, but we can stop listening to them. They only have power over us when we give it to them. We have the ability and freedom to let negative thoughts float by us, like water going downstream.

What positive message can I send to myself?


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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

January 10, 2017
 

You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.

—David D. Burns


Good thoughts are like bright colors in a painting. Negative thoughts are dark and dreary and drab. Each day we paint pictures of our own lives with our thoughts. If we step back and look at the canvas, we will see whether the picture is alive with bright colors or dreary and lifeless like a dark cloud. Our thoughts have the power to bring joy or sadness our way, depending on what we expect or look for in our surroundings. The choice of how we want our lives to be is ours. Since we paint a new picture each day, we are always free to change things when they don't please us. What better time than the present?

Is there something in my life I'd like to change today?

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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

January 11, 2017
 

It does make a difference what you call things.

—Kate Douglas Wiggin


Most of us think of dandelions as weeds. We buy special tools and poisons when they crop up and complain about them as surely as we welcome the spring that brings them. Yet is there anything more lovely than a sea of yellow dandelions by the side of the road in June? Or as remarkable in transformation as the filaments of the mature dandelion blowing on the wind?

Sometimes we let someone else define for us what are weeds and what are flowers. We don't have to. Much of the beauty of the world is that we ourselves decide what is beautiful according to our own feelings. How lucky we are that, when we choose to, we can open our eyes and see!

Can I see the beauty in those around me right now?


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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

:scoregood

YES! This is exactly why I asked for a digital voice recorder for Christmas this year! It's much easier to me to talk out loud to myself & I often "hear" things very differently that way. I LISTEN to myself more when I have to slow down to talk vs. my thoughts just crashing & colliding when I'm just silently thinking. Writing slows the process down even more deliberately, but sometimes it's too slow for me to catch everything I'm trying to express & I end up frustrated.

You know what's funny? When I originally thought of the recorder a few months ago it just seemed like a great idea, but then as I was putting batteries in the one RAH bought me, I remembered that I have a very LONG history of recording my rants. I remember being no more than 7-8 yrs old & locking myself in a room with an old tape recorder (!), picking a random topic & talking just to hear what I thought about it...... like improv, sometimes even fully playing a role/pretending, playing with personalities & characters. Sometimes it was a way of journaling what was really happening in my world & sometimes it was absolute fantasy. When I started writing creatively in middle school, my favorite way to start a story was to sit at the typewriter (again, dating myself here!), type out a random sentence off the top of my head & just let it develop into a short story of some sort. Holy repressed memories Batgirl!

These new readings are wonderful honeypig, thank you-thank you-thank you!!!
:You_Rock_

January 12, 2017
 

I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a shiny sliver out of one hour. I dropped it carelessly. O God! I knew not I held an opportunity.

—Hazel Lee


Once a famous artist was hired to put stained glass windows into a great cathedral. His eager young apprentice pleaded for the chance to design just one small window. The master artist feared an experiment on even a small window would prove costly, but the persistent young apprentice kept up his pleas. Finally, the master agreed that he could try his hand on one small window if he furnished his own materials and worked on his own time.

The enterprising apprentice began gathering bits of glass his master had discarded, and set to work. When the cathedral doors were open, people stood in groups before the small window, praising its delicate excellence.

Our lives are like this. If we take the time to gather together the moments and opportunities we too often discard and waste, we find we can weave them into something beautiful.

What can I make of moments I usually waste today?

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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

January 13, 2017

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

—Robert Frost


Our home is a place of roots, a place where we can always turn in time of need. Some of us may have had the experience of being away from home and not being able to make it on our own. We know what a relief it was to reach out at last and call our family, who we knew would take us in.

We became people in our homes, we learned to eat and walk and talk there. We feel comfortable there, safe from the pressures of the outside world. It is up to us to keep it safe and healthy by growing in love and generosity there.

Home is a place to really give of ourselves and put our best into making it happy and secure. It will affect our futures more than almost anything else in our lives. It deserves our prayers of blessing. It is our foundation, the source of our first feelings for others. May we treasure our home and the people who make up our family.

What small thing can I do right now to make home a better place?

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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

I am loving this thread, honeypig. Thanks!
When I taught, I used to read a book to the little ones called "A Seed is a Promise." It was a little , kinda old book left on the bookshelf by my predecessor. But it was the sweetest book about how seeds don't look like anything special, but very special things grow out of them. Reading some of the passages today reminded me of that little book.

I'm so glad to have found the sources for the 2 new daily-reader threads. Both of these seem to foster more discussion than the previous daily-readers did, and I really like that.

As a sometime gardener and ex-plant lady, I can surely appreciate your seed book and thoughts, Maudcat.

January 14, 2017
 

The universe is made up of stories, not atoms.

—Muriel Rukeyser


There was once a storyteller who told many people of her life. They listened and heard their own stories in hers. Hearing her story, they didn't feel so lonely anymore. Hearing about someone else who had lost things and people she loved, who had felt lonely, scared, and unsure of herself, let them feel less crazy when similar things happened to them.

Because of the healing they felt through hearing someone else's story, some of the listeners decided to become storytellers themselves. As they recounted their stories, they found that letting out secrets that had bothered them for years freed them to feel good about who they were and who they had always wanted to be.

What secrets can I share today?

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This reading is from Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here: Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.