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bluidkiti
06-01-2015, 07:58 AM
June 1

I Wish I Were

I wish I were big enough to honestly admit all my shortcomings.

Brilliant enough to accept praise without it making me arrogant.

Tall enough to tower over dishonesty.

Strong enough to welcome criticism.

Compassionate enough to understand human frailties.

Wise enough to recognize mistakes.

Humble enough to appreciate greatness.

Brave enough to stand by my friends.

Human enough to be thoughtful of my neighbor.

And spiritual enough to be devoted to the love of God.

-- Author unknown --

You are reading from the book:

The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 by Bill P. and Lisa D.

bluidkiti
06-02-2015, 07:31 AM
June 2

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for thee.
--George Herbert

Some of us have gone through life unconsciously expecting others to bring us happiness, to make our dreams come true, and to make us feel good about ourselves. When nothing seems to be going well for us, we blame it on the lack of external support - we're not in a serious relationship, we don't like our job, we don't have the money to venture into our own business.

When we change our perspective - when we know and trust that we are responsible for our happiness, our dreams, and our feelings - we become empowered. No longer is the burden on someone or something that is either unreliable or nonexistent. We'd been giving this power to others; now it's time to take it back, to make and be responsible for our own choices, to value our opinions, and to respect our intellect.

Today I will give myself credit for all I am capable of, financially and otherwise.

You are reading from the book:

Letting Go of Debt by Karen Casanova

bluidkiti
06-03-2015, 08:13 AM
June 3

For all the sadness of closure, there is a new and joyful unfolding in the process of becoming.
--Mary Casey

We must let go of people, places, memories, and move on to new experiences. The doors of the past must be closed before we can enter those that are opening to us today. However, no experience is gone forever. All of our experiences are threaded together, each one contributing to the events that claim our attention now.

Recovery has offered us a chance to be aware of our process of becoming. With each day, each experience, each new understanding, we are advancing along the path of personal growth. Let us remember that each of us has a particular path, like no other. Thus, our experiences are ours alone. We need not envy what comes to someone else.

Life is unfolding for us. The pain of the present may be necessary for the pleasure of tomorrow. We can accept the unfolding. Our inner selves have a goal; experiences of the past must be left in the past; experiences at hand will lead us to our destination today.

I am moving and changing and growing, at the right pace. The process can be trusted. What is right for me will come to me. I will let the joy of becoming warm me.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

bluidkiti
06-04-2015, 07:17 AM
June 4

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
--Step Nine

When we make amends we need to be clear about what we're apologizing for and the best way to say we're sorry. What we are really doing with our amends is taking responsibility for our behavior. We need to be sure that the process itself will not be self-defeating or hurtful.

Sometimes, we need to directly apologize for a particular thing we have done or our part in a problem. Other times, instead of saying I'm sorry, what we need to do is work on changing our behavior with a person.

There are times when bringing up what we have done and apologizing for it will make matters worse.

We need to trust timing, intuition, and guidance in this process of making amends. Once we become willing, we can let go and tackle our amends in a peaceful, consistent, harmonious way. If nothing feels right or appropriate, if it feels as if what we are about to do will cause a crisis or havoc, we need to trust that feeling.

We deserve to be at peace with ourselves and others.

Today, I will be open to making any amends I need to make with people. I will wait for Divine Guidance in the process of making any amends that are not clear to me. God, help me let go of my fear about facing people and taking responsibility for my behaviors. Help me know I am not diminishing my self-esteem by doing this; I am improving it.

You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

bluidkiti
06-05-2015, 08:59 AM
June 5

Reflection for the Day

Change is the characteristic of all growth. From drinking to sobriety, from dishonesty to honesty, from conflict to serenity, from childish dependence to adult responsibility - all this and infinitely more represent change for the better. Only God is unchanging; only God has all the truth there is. Do I accept the belief that lack of power was my dilemma? Have I found a power by which I can live - a Power greater than myself?

Today I Pray

I pray that The Program will be, for me, an outline for change - for changing me. These days of transition from active addiction to sobriety, from powerlessness to power through God, may be rocky, as change can be. May my restlessness be stilled by the unchanging nature of God, in whom I place my trust.

Today I Will Remember

I can count on my Higher Power.

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

bluidkiti
06-06-2015, 08:34 AM
June 6

I wish you a slow recovery.
--Saying heard in meetings

Newcomer

I feel as if I should be doing better than this by now.

Sponsor

I can identify with your belief that you should be doing better faster. I sometimes feel that about the pace of my own recovery, as if we recovering people are in some sort of race with time.

As active addicts, we had little experience with any long process. We believed in instant results, like the ones we were used to getting from our addictive substance or behavior. So we may not be qualified to judge what our rate of progress should be.

One antidote to my impatience is hearing about myself from people who saw me at meetings in the early days of my recovery. Paradoxically, I feel reassured when they laugh and make statements like, "I remember what you were like; you were bouncing off the walls!" Their perspective reminds me that I've come a distance on my journey.

What can best further your journey is leaving the timetable for recovery in your Higher Power's hands as you focus your whole being - all of your attention - on this present moment.

Today, I don't measure myself. I trust that I'm everything I should be in this moment.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

bluidkiti
06-07-2015, 07:44 AM
June 7

Healing the Past

We hear much about the long term effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family. Many alcoholics, in fact, have bitter memories of their own parents’ drinking and may feel this caused needless deprivation and misery.

Whether our families were dysfunctional or not, we must agree that most of our parents did the best they could. We cannot bring back the past – nor can they – and it is best released, forgiven, and forgotten. Our wisest course is to use the tools of the program to reach the maturity and well-being that will bring happiness into our own lives. This will not happen, however, if we believe that growing up in a dysfunctional home has left us permanently impaired.

In our fellowship, we can find endless examples of people who used the Twelve Steps to overcome all kinds of emotional and physical disabilities. Just when we start thinking something in our past is a permanent handicap, we meet other people who survived the same bitter experiences and are living life to the fullest. They’ve cleared away the wreckage of their past in order to build wisely for the future.

I’ll remember today that I am not bound or limited by anything that was ever done or said to me. I face the day with self-confidence and a sense of expectancy, knowing that I am really a fortunate person with many reasons to be grateful.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

bluidkiti
06-08-2015, 08:14 AM
June 8

...setting aside our carefulness with each other...

If we cannot tolerate our mistakes, we will never be able to move on from this place. If we do not step up to the plate with bat in hand, we will grow old without knowing what first base is like.

Life is a risk. A committed relationship is a risk. Letting ourselves go, voicing opinions, telling our deepest feelings, playing frivolously at the park, setting aside our carefulness with each other and sometimes falling flat on our faces -- all these things give us the pleasure of being alive. If we insist on playing it safe, then we never feel the thrill of the game. Our lives with each other become flat and empty if we do not take some risks. We have a right to be weak as well as strong; a right to be respected when we feel silly as much as when we appear dignified; a right to say what we believe even if it is half-baked. The greatest mistake is never to engage life.

Think of one thing you would like to do with your partner if you could set aside all judgments and evaluations.

You are reading from the book:

The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum

bluidkiti
06-09-2015, 08:24 AM
June 9

Attitudes and Limitations

What we consider our greatest strengths can also be our greatest weaknesses.

Excessive pride in "being able to handle everything," for example, may result in our taking on other people's responsibilities. In "taking over," we often lessen another's desire to meet his or her own obligations.

A boastful "I'll do it myself!" attitude can also mask a desperate feeling of inadequacy. Having a constant drive to prove our worth to others, we may trample on, or ignore, the needs of those around us who are just as eager to exhibit their competency and worth.

What are some other examples of virtues becoming vices?

Determination, to excess, becomes obstinacy and stubbornness. Honesty, when misdirected, is synonymous with gossip and slander. Sympathy and concern, overdone, can cripple and smother.

TODAY I will make a list of ten of my strengths and weaknesses. How has acting on each of these virtues and vices created joy or sorrow in my life? I will be aware that my strengths can be my worst enemies if I abuse them.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

bluidkiti
06-10-2015, 06:14 AM
June 10

"It was the hardest two years of my life," a woman said. "So many painful, unexpected events happened. I felt so abandoned, so lost. I didn't understand what was happening, and I felt tortured by God and life. I didn't think it would ever end. But it did. Now I can look back on that time and say, Wow. Look at all I learned. There's nothing that life can bring my way that I can't handle and get through."

She learned self-confidence. But whether she's conscious of it or not, this woman is beginning to learn the value of trusting the process.

Sometimes we don't know what we're learning, or whether we're learning anything at all. It's easy to look back on a situation once it has worked itself out and be in awe of the process and all that we learned.

The time we most need to trust the journey is when it looks like we can't.

You are reading from the book:

52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie

bluidkiti
06-11-2015, 06:56 AM
June 11

F.E.A.R. = Frustration, Ego, Anxiety and Resentment
--Anonymous

We don't want to return to the life we led before recovery, but fear should never be the reason why we don't. Fear keeps us from being open to the Program. If we're only in the Program because we're afraid of the old way of life, we'll never pay attention and open our souls to learn about the new way. We'll be too busy looking back over our shoulders to make sure the old life isn't creeping up on us.

We have to want the Program out of a desire for a new life, not out of a fear of the old. Positive thinking and behavior will be in charge if we are to make any character growth. Every fear encourages negative thinking that can destroy us. Guilt and shame come from the past, just like fear. If those feelings are what drive us, we will never grow.

I will make it a practice to take note of my fears. I will take an inventory of each fear until I understand what caused it. Then I will be able to find a way to work through them.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

bluidkiti
06-12-2015, 07:15 AM
June 12

One Day at a Time

My best friend was going through some tough situations in her life. I was in the midst of a hard stretch too. We didn't particularly like the things we had to do in our lives. We talked about our feelings and decided that what we were going through was necessary and important, even though we didn't like it. We expressed gratitude for our lives.

"It's still a dreadful time," I said.

"Brutal," she said. "I guess we're back to the old one-day-at-a-time approach. We're so lucky. What do people do that haven't learned that gem?"

There are times when we can look at the stretch ahead and like what we see. Taking life one day at a time is still a good idea, even when things are going well.

Taking life one day at a time can be particularly useful when the road ahead looks dreadful. We may not even know where to start with some challenges. That's when taking life one day at a time is essential.

"I've been using alcohol and other drugs every day since I've been twelve years old," I said to my counselor years ago in treatment. "Now you're telling me I need to stay sober the rest of my life. Plus get a job. And a life. How am I going to do that?"

"One day at a time," she said. She was right. Sometimes I had to take life one minute at a time or one hour at a time. And all these years later, it still works.

You are reading from the book:

52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie

bluidkiti
06-13-2015, 07:31 AM
June 13

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.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

bluidkiti
06-14-2015, 07:15 AM
June 14

Duty is what one expects from others - it is not what one does oneself.
--Oscar Wilde

Newcomer

I do intend to make amends to everyone I've harmed, but I still feel scared to think about it.

Sponsor

The prospect of facing someone to whom we owe amends may bring up unnecessary fear if we cling to our old notion that we do everything alone.

We can plan to telephone a sponsor or program friend both before and after making the amend. We can ask for help from our Higher Power, praying for the willingness to make the amend, for the ability to speak our truth simply and clearly, and for the serenity that comes from understanding that another person's response is not in the realm of things we can control. Tools work, when we're willing to use them. As always, faith is the antidote to fear. If we feel that our faith is insufficient, we can listen to others in recovery sharing about their experience of the loving presence of a Higher Power - we can borrow from others' reserves of faith, when our own are low.

Today, I'm not alone, I allow myself to ask for and accept the support I need and deserve.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

bluidkiti
06-15-2015, 08:44 AM
June 15

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 mistakes.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

bluidkiti
06-16-2015, 06:32 AM
June 16

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.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

bluidkiti
06-17-2015, 07:44 AM
June 17

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 disillusionments, 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.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

bluidkiti
06-18-2015, 07:52 AM
June 18

"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.

You are reading from the book:

Our Best Days by Nancy Hull-Mast

bluidkiti
06-19-2015, 07:27 AM
June 19

Change is sometimes necessary

Despite the fact that many of us live turbulent, chaotic lives; we may 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.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

bluidkiti
06-20-2015, 06:50 AM
June 20

The one lesson my dad taught me:
If you're going to do anything in life, do it right.
--Monty Cralley

Our parents may have had a way of instructing that often bordered on shaming us. No matter what we might remember about it, or them, they meant well. Their own experiences colored how they parented us. This pattern was probably played out in our own parenting, too. We all did the best we could. None of us did a perfect job. But now that we have the time to contemplate the past, we might want to consider forgiving our parents if we still harbor any grudges. Or we might want to make amends to our children or other family members if we are able to see our own failings now.

We made tons of mistakes getting to an older age. Some were intentional; most were not. Do we have to redress all of them? Actually, we don't even have to acknowledge any of them. But if we do, we'll feel far better about ourselves and we'll have helped to break the cycle of the poor parenting we might have experienced.

We all have a chance to do something significant in life. This doesn't have to mean inventing a tool or a drug that will help millions of people. It's really quite easy. Smile at a stranger today, for starters. Consider putting aside an old grudge. Apologize for an unkind action.

I can do something really important today. Am I willing to examine how I treat other people?

You are reading from the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

bluidkiti
06-21-2015, 06:59 AM
June 21

I wasn't exactly brought up in one of those Norman Rockwell paintings you used to see on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
--Reggie Jackson

We have many myths about other people's lives. When we compare ourselves to these stories, we come up short. We have the TV families in our minds. We may have stories our father told about his moment of glory and how he met his challenges. Any of these images selects part of the truth and highlights it, creating a myth that might be worthwhile if we don't take it too literally.

Living a real life never feels as serene as our fantasies. A myth lifts us up, carries us away to other possibilities, but we should always take it with a grain of salt. Recollections or a Norman Rockwell painting romanticizes a piece of reality by omitting the drudgery and confusion of life. Myths are meant as inspirations, not as measurements of our lives.

The difficulties and confusion I feel may just be part of real life. Serenity comes when I accept the mixture that real life is.

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

bluidkiti
06-22-2015, 08:00 AM
June 22

If a man can carve something out of wood, he is just as much a creator as a man who works with words.
--Clara Glenn

It's really not what we do in life that matters, but how we do it. To more clearly understand this, let's take an example. We can all remember dreading a project that needed doing - maybe mending some pants or replacing a screen in the back door. First, we couldn't find our glasses to thread the needle, and then we stuck ourselves with the needle, drawing blood that promptly got on the pants. Or we hit our index finger with the hammer as we attempted to install the new screen. Our recollections are endless. Interestingly enough, our personal attitudes always directly controlled the success we had with the project.

What does this mean to us now? It suggests that if we are fully attentive to whatever we pursue, our experience of it will be significantly different. We are competent to handle anything that needs our attention. In most cases, we'll be more than competent. And if we have a real desire to do the job, we'll excel at it, providing we give it our undivided attention.

I am a creator of something today. Maybe it's a friendship or a poem. They are equal in the eyes of God.

You are reading from the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

bluidkiti
06-23-2015, 07:51 AM
June 23

What happens to us is not as important as how we respond.

The external events of our lives are largely beyond our control. We do not choose our parents, our emotional environment, the historical period in which we live, our body type, or the flow of circumstances that shape our experience. These are givens. We do not select them, but we can choose how we will react to them, and in that choice lies our freedom and our responsibility.

Instead of complaining about the hand we've been dealt, we can concentrate on playing it well. This is the way we exercise our freedom. What might appear to be random chance can take on meaning and purpose as we delve for insight and use our deficiencies as opportunities for growth.

Our responsibility is to do the best we can with what we have where we are. And we don't do it alone. We have help in learning how best to respond. We have a support group, we have a Higher Power, and we have an inner guide if we will listen for direction.

Today, I will remember that the what of my life is not as important as the how.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

bluidkiti
06-24-2015, 06:30 AM
June 24

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.
--Soren Kierkegaard

Once, in a small village, there was a huge fire. The blaze spread and several homes and businesses were burned to the ground. After a long while, the fire was brought under control and put out. Villagers banded together to rebuild their town, but one quite persistent young man insisted on searching the rubble for the cause of the fire.

Impatient townspeople scolded him, saying, "Why waste time searching for causes? Knowing them won't put out the blaze or repair the damage."

"I know," replied the young man, "but knowing why might prevent other fires."

Sometimes we have to look at painful past experiences in order to prevent their recurrence. When we understand ourselves better, we can move beyond the past and walk toward the future with surer, safer steps.

How well can I use my past today?

You are reading from the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

bluidkiti
06-25-2015, 06:57 AM
June 25

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of good luck.
--H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Managing desires is one of the most crucial elements of being an adult. Children want many things that aren't good for them, and their impulses can often get them into trouble. They need loving, caring adults to protect them from the harm that can come from getting what they want. As adults, our spiritual development includes learning how to regard our desires and how to manage them. On the one hand, it isn't healthy to become so controlled and repressed that we never let ourselves have fun, and on the other hand, we know that indulging every desire will kill us.

Sometimes we want something very badly and when we don't get it, we feel desperate or very disappointed. However, life continuously points us in directions we hadn't expected. Disappointment can serve to reset our lives. Not getting our desires, if we keep our eyes open, points us in directions that can be better than what we had imagined for ourselves.

Today I will be open to the new directions that life points me toward.

You are reading from the book:

Wisdom to Know by Anonymous

bluidkiti
06-26-2015, 06:29 AM
June 26

Honesty is the best policy.
--David Tuvill

Newcomer

I've heard people talk about "firing" their sponsors, about sponsors "firing" their sponsees. I find that term disillusioning I thought we were here to help one another.

Sponsor

Human relationships change, for all sorts of reason, and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that reality. Sponsors, like sponsees, are just people in recovery, growing and working the Steps; we don't always handle things perfectly. One sponsor may take on more than he or she is really prepared to handle; with phone calls coming day and night from an overload of sponsees, frequency or quality of communication may be inadequate. Another sponsor may enjoy being bossy and have trouble recognizing the difference between passing on program experience and trying to impose his or her will in areas where personal choice is appropriate. A sponsor may discover that a sponsee lacks the desire for recovery or has significant problems in an area in which the sponsor has no experience.

When differences are resolved by talking and listening, relationships grow and deepen. Are we avoiding necessary confrontation with ourselves or others? Or does growth, this time, mean that it's appropriate to separate? Honesty, courage, and love are qualities that help us make transitions in our relationships.

Today, my willingness to grow enhances my relationships with others.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

bluidkiti
06-27-2015, 07:51 AM
June 27

Separateness

... put our efforts where we can succeed.

The appeal of a "fix" tempts us. One day we dream, "If only I had a different job my life would be happy, or if only I had a different house." Perhaps we even dream of having a different partner. When we waste so much precious energy on trying to change something or someone outside ourselves, we usually end up alone, unhappy, or exhausted. It takes great effort and a long time to develop what we truly seek: love, self-acceptance, honesty, and peace of mind.

Fixing or changing our partner might appeal on the surface, but why not put our efforts where we can succeed? What can we change? Ourselves - by becoming less critical we build our honesty and self-worth.

Do I block my own growth when I focus on someone else's action?

You are reading from the book:

The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum

bluidkiti
06-28-2015, 06:29 AM
June 28

One has to grow up with good talk in order to form the habit of it.
--Helen Hayes

Our habits, whatever they may be, were greatly influenced, if not wholly formed, during childhood. We learned our behavior through imitation - imitation of our parents, our siblings, and our peer group. But we need not be stuck in habits that are unhealthy. The choice to create new patterns of behavior is ours to make - every moment, every hour, every day. However, parting with the old pattern in order to make way for the new takes prayer, commitment, and determination.

All of us who share these Steps have broken away from old patterns. We have chosen to leave liquor and pills alone. We may have chosen to leave unhealthy relationships. And we are daily choosing to move beyond our shortcomings. But not every day is a successful one. Our shortcomings have become ingrained. Years of pouting, or lying, or feeling fearful, or overeating, or procrastinating beckon to us; the habit invites itself.

We can find strength from the program and one another to let go of the behavior that stands in the way of today's happiness. And we can find in one another a better, healthier behavior to imitate.

The program is helping me to know there is a better way, every day, to move ahead. I am growing up again amidst the good habits of others and myself.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

bluidkiti
06-29-2015, 07:48 AM
June 29

Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy the type of misery you can live with.
-- Ziggy

We think to ourselves, "Wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about the washer breaking down?" "Wouldn't it be nice to drive a reliable car?" "Wouldn't it be nice to take a Caribbean vacation every year?" "Wouldn't it be nice not to have to work?" If we had money, we think, at least we wouldn't have to worry so much and could live comfortably.

True. Money buys external comfort - plush couches and chairs, luxury cars, beautiful environments. Money buys what comforts and soothes us on the outside. And, if we're going to be miserable anyway, why not do it in comfort?

We remember that regardless of our surroundings, misery is misery. Unless we have the right attitude, we'll find something wrong with whatever we have or don't have. When we work on improving our inner world - on alleviating the real cause of our misery - we know true comfort. We know serenity.

Today I know that the better I get, the richer I become.

You are reading from the book:

Letting Go of Debt by Karen Casanova

bluidkiti
06-30-2015, 06:22 AM
June 30

Doing nothing, that hurts you.
--John Arnold

Doing nothing as a steady diet would wear thin after a while, but doing nothing once in a while is good therapy. We need to let our minds and bodies rest. Being always booked for an activity gives us too little time for reflection about our lives. We have come a long way. Taking the time to appreciate that during our quiet spaces will enhance our self-perception.

Not a one of us has had an unsuccessful life. We may not have accomplished every goal we've set for ourselves but we can believe that we did what really needed to be done by us. There has been a divine plan at work even though we were unaware of it. The same continues to be true. We will be nudged to pursue hobbies or volunteer activities or jobs if that's the plan for us. This certainly takes the guesswork out of our lives. It makes us know we are pretty special, too.

I'll do whatever calls to me today. As long as it's not something that will hurt another person, it will be right.

You are reading from the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey