Today's Thought - September

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September 1

I have to laugh at the times I’ve knocked myself out over a tough spot only to find out afterwards there was an easier way through.
--Robert Franklin Leslie

We receive messages throughout the day that tell us ways of doing things. The door to the store says, “Pull.” The red light tells us not to drive through the intersection. The cereal box says, “Lift tab and open.” Our car's gas gauge tells us “empty.” With these messages, we are given the guidance on which to base our decisions.

We can choose not to pull the door. Then we’ll spend a lot of time and energy pushing until we finally read the sign. All that effort expended, just because we couldn’t stop to get some guidance!

The Twelve Steps offer guidance for an easier way through life. We don’t have to knock ourselves out over these Steps; all we have to do is follow the direction they give us.

How can I use the Steps to make my life easier?

You are reading from the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

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September 2

Listening and Sharing

Let us review what others have said about listening and sharing:

"To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it."
--Churton Collins

"They that will not be counseled cannot be helped. If you do not hear reason, she will rap you on the knuckles."
--Benjamin Franklin

"Don’t give your advice before you are called upon."
--Erasmus

"If a man’s faith is unstable and his peace of mind troubled, his knowledge will not be perfect."
--Buddhist Proverb

"Let no man presume to give advice to others that he has not first lived successfully himself."
--Anonymous

"People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be – not what you nag them to be."
--S.N. Parker

"An open mind, like an open window, should be screened to keep the bugs out."
--Virginia Hutchinson

"Philosophy is a purely personal matter. A genuine philosopher's credo is the outcome of a single complex personality; it cannot be transferred. No two persons, if sincere, can have the same philosophy."
--Havelock Ellis

Today I will not expect others to agree with my views. I will share and listen for what is good in others and myself. I will seek honesty and increased understanding from all my communications with others.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

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September 3

A problem well stated is a problem half solved.
--Charles F. Kettering

Denial never really goes away, it creeps into everyone's life. We may admit we're powerless over alcohol and drugs but still believe it was the school's fault that we were suspended. Denial is especially dangerous for us, because it spreads, gets out of control, and eventually takes away our most prized possession: sobriety.

But now we have the tools we need to combat denial. Other people can help us see what we're really doing. We can get to know ourselves better. And we can learn to change. Day by day, we grow stronger in recovery.

Today let me recognize denial, admit what's wrong, and begin to fix it.

You are reading from the book:

Our Best Days by Nancy Hull-Mast

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September 4

We are giving birth to ourselves. Let's be midwives to one another through this difficult, yet exhilarating, process.
--Dudley Martineau

Helping each other survive the traumas of our lives strengthens us. We can't be overwhelmed by any experience if we rely on each other for support as we walk through it. How lucky we are.

Having the courage to take advantage of opportunities transforms us. Where do we want to take our lives? Who do we want to become? The decisions are many and exciting. The counsel of our friends can guide us, but which doors we open is up to us.

Most of us experienced the pain of our lives alone. Revealing to someone else what our lives were like was far too scary. How could they possibly like us or accept us if they knew who we really were? Now those days are gone forever. Our decision to get help, and thus give help, is giving every one of us the new life we deserve.

My rebirth gives me opportunities to share my good fortune with others. I will be attentive to everyone today.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

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September 5

Sometimes a majority simply means that all the fools are on the same side.
--Claude McDonald

If we're to stay straight, we have to be prepared for peer pressure. If anyone tries to get us to use or do what we know is wrong, we have to be prepared. Whether we're prepared to walk away, say "No thanks," avoid slippery places, or actually tell someone we're recovering, it doesn't matter. What matters most is knowing in advance what our plan is. If we are prepared, we'll handle peer pressure well.

Some of us say, "No one pressures me - I don't have to worry." If we realize there will often be pressure, we can accept it and be prepared. The only person who can truly pressure us is ourselves. When we accept this, we have all the power we need to say no, because we are saying yes to ourselves.

You are reading from the book:

Our Best Days by Nancy Hull-Mast

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September 6

Complacency breeds old behavior and unnecessary problems.

"The Promises," as suggested in the Big Book, clearly indicate that we have work to do if we want the rewards that are guaranteed in this program of recovery. Getting complacent, not using the tools that the program has taught us, opens the door to backsliding. Before long we are caught in the old game of manipulation: tension fills our lives again.

There are simple antidotes to complacency. Gratitude is one of them. Every morning we can take a few movements to appreciate all the goodness in our lives. Another powerful antidote is taking the time to consciously contact our Higher Power. God is always available to help us: we simply have to open the door. Sharing hope with others is perhaps the most powerful of the antidotes because it helps at least two people – ourselves and the listener who hears our story.

The Twelve Step program has made each of us a messenger for God. When we isolate, forgetting our role in this picture that's unfolding, the old attitudes and behaviors return. We are told to be "painstaking" about our efforts. The benefits will match them.

I will be present to the others in my life today and will acknowledge God in all that I do. My conscientiousness won't allow me to be complacent.

You are reading from the book:

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey`

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September 7

As we think, so we become.

We can enrich our interior monologue. We can seek the company of people who inspire us with a loving approach to life. We can absorb the written thoughts of writers who encourage our positive emotions. We can decide to be cheerful and optimistic, just for today.

Whom would you rather be around - someone who chronically complains and talks about what a mess everything is, or someone who finds joy and delight in watching the antics of two squirrels in a tree? You are your constant companion. Your own company can be a pleasure or a drag, depending on the thoughts and feelings you permit to linger in your consciousness.

We take Steps Four and Five in order to sort out our thoughts, getting rid of those that depress our spirit. In Step Ten, we continue a daily mental housecleaning so that residues of resentment and discouragement are not allowed to accumulate. Then we go on to Step Eleven for an infusion of the kind of thinking that nurtures the person we want to become.

Today, I will exercise my freedom of thought.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

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September 8

Today's thought is:

A.A. Thought for the Day

Let us consider the term "spiritual experience" as given in Appendix II of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do not need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming "God-consciousness," followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual.

Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?

Meditation for the Day

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity come from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God's everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God's strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.

You are reading from the book:

Twenty-Four Hours a Day by Anonymous

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September 9

Real love pours itself out upon the object of its affection, without demanding any return.
--Florence Scovel Shinn

Loving another wholly, purely, with no strings attached promises ecstasy, and yet seldom do we dare chance it. Often we want the promise of love in return if we're to offer it. Our fragile egos are held tentatively intact by the slim gestures and fleeting words of love tossed our way. But when we bargain for love, we don't find it.

Real love will forever elude us unless we put our own selves aside and unabashedly love the self of someone else.

Freely spreading the warm glow of love to others magically invites its return - another of life's mysteries.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

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September 10

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.
--Hannah Arendt

Resentments keep us in the past, a past that can never be relived. Resentments keep a stranglehold on our mind. They keep us from appreciating the beauty of a moment. They stop us from hearing the loving voices of friends. We forget that we have a mission to fulfill God's divine plan for our life.

Fortunately, we can shake this hold on us, and our freedom comes when we decide to forgive whatever transgressions are made against us. This decision, with some practice, can become second nature.

Clearly the choice to resent no one is our opportunity to free our mind and heart for the real activities God hopes we'll attend to. Our purpose in this life goes unfulfilled when we're consumed by resentments. Now we have a program of recovery to help us develop a forgiving heart and find the peace and joy that are part of God's will for each of us.

Holding resentments against others hurts me. Forgiveness can make me glad I'm alive today.

You are reading from the book:

In God's Care by Karen Casey

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September 11

We don't always understand the ways of Almighty God - the crosses sent us, the sacrifices demanded . . . But we accept with faith and resignation the holy will with no looking back, and we are at peace.
--Anonymous

Acceptance of our past, acceptance of the conditions presently in our lives that we cannot change, brings relief. It brings the peacefulness we so often, so frantically, seek.

We can put the past behind us. Each day is a new beginning. And each day of abstinence offers us the chance to look ahead with hope. A power greater than ourselves helped us to find this program. That power is ever with us. When we fear facing new situations, or when familiar situations turn sour, we can look to that power for help in saying what needs to be said and for doing what needs to be done. Our higher power is as close as our breath. Conscious awareness of its presence strengthens us, moment by moment.

The past is gone. Today is full of possibilities. With each breath I will be aware of the strength at hand.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

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September 12

Only those means of security are good, are certain, are lasting that depend on yourself and your own vigor.
--Machiavelli

What is our security based upon? This is a vital, bottom-line question.

Security is a basic need of all humans. But as with all quests, if we look for the object of our search in an area where it cannot be found, we court certain frustration and failure.

Many would base their security on outside conditions. That is building our house on sand. Beauty passes, fame is fleeting, wealth can quickly evaporate, and health is fragile at best. What then is safe to count upon?

Only one security cannot be taken away, and it resides within. Security based on our own belief in ourselves, in our ability not only to cope and survive, but to celebrate life is the only security that lasts. As hard as it may be for adult children to learn they can trust themselves, it still is the only lasting security.

My security rests on the gains I've made in the program I've never had a stronger sense of self.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

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September 13

Communicating

…when I finally gave up on my partner.

He believed that the love of his life, if he ever found the Right One, would fill all the gaps of his own personality. She dreamed that her perfect match would always respond gently, never willfully. After the honeymoon phase they naturally began to find imperfections and disappointments. Both wondered if they had chosen the Wrong One. But in a sense, there is no Right One for anyone. In another sense, there may be millions of Right Ones.

The closeness of a partnership will always reveal weaknesses and disappointments that were not obvious at first. No partner will match all the inventions of our own mind or so completely fit our needs that we have no remaining emptiness inside. One person said, “It felt like a terrible day when I finally gave up on my partner. But it became the first day of reality for me. Only after that did I discard the images I had invented for her and begin to get acquainted with who she really was.”

For today, put all your ideas and desires for who your mate should become on the shelf and go only with who your mate is.

You are reading from the book:

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

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September 14

When one knows Thee, then alien there is none, then no door is shut. Oh, grant me my prayer that I may never lose the touch of the one in the play of many.
--Rabindranath Tagore

When we make a person-to-person telephone call, we want to be connected with one particular person. If that person is not in, we make no connection.

Are we taking time to make person-to-person connections? Or are we seeking situations with groups of people so we don't have to be open and honest with just one person? We all need at least one person with whom to share confidences, laughter, tears, hugs, plans, and dreams. If we don't have this special person, we are like one bird in a nest: safe and warm, but isolated and alone.

We can attend a meeting every night and still be isolated and alone. Being around people doesn't necessarily mean we're making connections with them. To truly share ourselves, we need to open the doors to our lives and let at least one person in. Just one person can make the difference between isolation and connection.

I need to connect with a special friend. How can I open the door to this one person?

You are reading from the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

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September 15

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.
--Abigail Van Buren

How did we get so convinced that our way is usually best? That surely didn't come from a lifetime of constant success. How did we get fixed in our thinking on a given issue? Not from a track record of first exploring all other alternatives.

This rigidity probably helped us survive childhood. But now it's a wall that isolates us. It closes our minds off from ideas that are more in keeping with where we want to be. And it closes us off from people whom we would like to be with.

In recovery, we are noticing others who are not so fixed in their thinking. They don't pass judgment or criticize quickly. Their tranquility is obvious, and we want more of it. Their openness lets them hear more from others, and that is the way to knowledge, change, and growth.

We find that listening to others is now a blessing, not a burden.

Today help me be open to the example of others.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous