Today's Thought - June

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June 1

Seize the opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.
--Bulgarian proverb

Through laziness or inattention, we often miss opportunities to grow. Maybe we don't play our hunches or listen to our intuition. Maybe we see an opportunity but fail to act because we're not sure it's what we ought to do. An opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream has appeared, but we don't trust our good fortune. A chance has come to use our talent to help someone, but we don't know how the person will handle it, so we do nothing.

And we rationalize. We decide it's a frivolous impulse, a whim that's not worth our attention. We decide it couldn't be our Inner Guide.

God seldom takes us by the scruff of the neck and pulls us to our next destination. God provides the opportunities; it's up to us to seize them. God talks to us; it's up to us to listen.

Today I'll be on the lookout or God's opportunities.

You are reading from the book:

In God's Care by Karen Casey

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June 2

The ego is a self-justifying historian, which seeks only that information that agrees with it, rewrites history when it needs to, and does not even see the evidence that threatens it.
--Anthony G. Greenwald

One of the larger struggles facing us is relinquishing, the need to be right always. Only when we've given up the struggle do we understand that the battle is finally won. We come to see nonresistance as the quintessence of the power play. However, our need to be right is the point of real concern, and in order to let go of this need, clarity regarding the human condition is in order.

Few of us are sure of our worth, our necessity to the better functioning of the human universe. We falter and fear our mistakes, certain that they will enlighten our fellow travelers about our inadequacies. And so we bully others, covertly or with great poise, into accepting our viewpoints. We believe that ideas shared by others are more valuable, and thus our own value is assured. No one is served by the exercises in truth.

Might the time finally come when I will understand that my individual existence is all the proof I need that I am right - without the struggle? I can practice this belief today.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

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June 3

Depression and Despair

Do we go about our daily work dutifully but joylessly? Have we settled for less in our jobs, homes, or relationships than we want? Have we substituted financial security or physical comfort for the freedom to pursue our heart's desires?

Very few of us give ourselves the opportunities to explore our real interests and potentials. We "lock" ourselves into rigid ways of regarding the world and our options. We often settle for less than our highest aspirations because we have conditioned ourselves into thinking life is joyless endurance or survival at best.

In order to change the empty circumstances in our lives we need to change our limited thinking patterns. Instead of looking at life as a prison, we can view it as a smorgasbord of opportunities that are well within our reach. By exploring and sampling the choices before us we can discover which choices bring us inner satisfaction and increase our sense of purpose.

TODAY I will remind myself of what Roman philosopher Seneca said hundreds of years ago, "The great blessings of mankind are within us, and within our reach..."

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

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June 4

Without discipline, there's no life at all.
--Katharine Hepburn

We all have deadlines we must meet. We have bills to pay, responsibilities at work, children with school projects - all the innumerable small markers that push life forward.

When we realize we're procrastinating, we need to be committed to not shaming ourselves. Procrastination is not an indication that we have failed. How realistic would it be if we looked forward to doing unpleasant things? It's human to avoid what we'd rather not do.

As we free ourselves from the burden of perfectionism, we're free to better accept our responsibilities. Meeting deadlines as well as we can, one at a time, pays off in serenity and a manageable life. When we are crisis ridden, we are forced to live by other peoples' demands, rather than by our choices. In the face of procrastination, resentment, or perfectionism, we can turn to Step Ten for an inventory. We can forgive ourselves, try to laugh at ourselves, live in the present, and keep going. Today can be better than yesterday.

I may as well admit it - there's probably something I'm avoiding. Is today the day to do it?



You are reading from the book:

Answers in the Heart by Anonymous

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June 5

Don't miss out on today's learning experiences.

They won't come again. We will never have another day exactly like today, so let's take advantage of the lessons we're offered.

We don't like to make mistakes, and we don't like to be in situations that are fraught with stress, but mistakes and distress seem to go along with being human and alive. Both can be turned into sound learning experiences.

We don't learn if we try to deny or ignore the situation we don't like or don't handle well. How much better if we can accept the difficulty, see how we have contributed to it, and arrive at a positive course of action. And how often it helps to talk about the problem with someone else instead of pridefully insisting on muddling through alone. Very likely, we will discover that today's richest learning experiences are those we share with others.

I will accept the lessons today offers and share them with someone else so that we both can grow.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

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June 6

Reflection for the Day

One of the best ways to get out of the self-pity trap is to do some "instant bookkeeping." For every entry of misery on the debit side of our ledger, we can surely find a blessing to mark on the credit side: the health we enjoy, the illnesses we don't have, the friends who love us and who allow us to love them, a clean and sober 24 hours, a good day's work. If we but try, we can easily list a whole string of credits that will far outweigh the debit entries which cause self-pity. Is my emotional balance on the credit side today?

Today I Pray

May I learn to sort out my debits and credits and add it all up. May I list my several blessings on the credit side. May my ledger show me, when all is totaled, a fat fund of good things to draw on.

Today I Will Remember

I have blessings in my savings.

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

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June 7

Problems are opportunities for stretching our minds.

Wringing our hands over circumstances gone awry wastes our energy. In any twenty-four hours we will experience many situations that will evolve according to God's plan, rather than our own. We'd feel our spirits being lifted if we could assume that any ripple in a day's activities is simply God's way of reminding us that outcomes are not ours to orchestrate.

As we grow accustomed to a broader range of perspectives than just our own, we become more aware of the multiplicity of views. This stretches our minds, teaching us to see in new and valuable ways. It is no accident that each of us brings a unique contribution and personal viewpoint to the table. God's design has gathered us together to learn from one another.

I will appreciate other people's viewpoints today. It is part of God's plan for my growth.

You are reading from the book:

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

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June 8

We do not have to get caught in the middle of other people's issues.
-- Melody Beattie

Learning to respect boundaries, our own and other people's, eliminates much of the stress that hinders relationships. Accepting the behavior and the opinions of our friends as legitimate for them allows our relationships to teach us tolerance and patience and love. Our journey on this planet is not about "fixing" or controlling others, but about loving them wholly, just as we want to be loved.

We need other people. Our humanity is enhanced by our mutual experiences. But we also need to let others learn from their mistakes and their own experiences, rather than to help them avoid what they need for their growth. We hate to see our friends in pain. Our compassion is triggered when trouble trips them. But their journey must be inviolate. We'll only prolong their struggle by intervening where we aren't needed.

It's hard to back away when a friend is in trouble. But telling a friend you love and support him or her may give them the strength they need.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

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June 9

An intimate truth is also a universal truth.
--John Cournos

Truth is often associated primarily with the larger issues and set alongside such ideals as Justice, Freedom, and Democracy. We like the grand words - and properly so on the grand occasions.

But let's remember, too, that truth between us and someone we are close to is also of supreme value. An endearment, a tender emotion shared, an admission, an apology, a vow, an act of forgiveness - all these take on the meaning of truth in an intimate context. And that, for all of us, is a context that matters.

How we are with one another on the level of feeling and trust is of vital importance. In building a meaningful relationship, we are implicitly making a statement about what the world can be - one built on courage, tolerance, affection, honesty, and love. Such truths as these will ring out clearly until the end of time.

I am uncovering many truths in my life that are connected to my relationships with other people.

You are reading from the book:

Answers in the Heart by Anonymous

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June 10

There is an end to grief if we have the courage to accept our personal goodness and our ongoing right to happiness.
-- Justin Langley

Making peace with our losses takes time and trust. In the past, we may have acted in ways that were heartbreaking to ourselves and others. But now we have a new choice; we can walk the road of self-forgiveness and stop punishing ourselves for past deeds, or we can decide that we don't deserve to feel good, that clinging to our pain, guilt, and self-loathing will somehow make up for some of the damage.

Believing our wrongs are too great to be righted leaves us in a perpetual state of mourning. It's a risk, but we can choose to believe that change is possible, not all at once but slowly, one day at a time.

Believing that God loves us and wants us to be happy gives us the courage to make amends and face our past head on. When we take the leap of faith necessary to grieve and let go of the past, we take back our best selves, and the lives we were meant to live.

Today give me the strength and the courage to grieve my losses.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

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June 11

At first, I resented it when my friends in the program told me to be God or let God.
-- Myrna K.

Who consciously decided to play God? Not me. Not you. But many of us have a terrible time letting God run the world. No matter how much we resolve not to, we take responsibility for things we can't control. That's what playing God is, and that's what a lot of us have practiced for a long, long time. Playing God is not only hard work, it's also a good way to ruin relationships. People just don't like to be around would-be mortal "gods" whose clay feet are all too visible. Our good intentions don't make people feel less defensive about us.

Letting go isn't easy. Especially if we confuse letting go with not caring. Of course we care. But that does not and must not mean we are responsible. Can we care enough to let others make their own mistakes, earn their own victories, and take responsibility for their own lives? Not to do so, no matter how we may feel about it, breeds dependency in both them and us.

We must care enough to let them be.

Today, I will be aware that "doing for" someone else is also "doing to" him or her.

You are reading from the book:

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

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June 12

Love doesn't just sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread - re-made all the time, made new.
--Ursula K. Le Guin

We love to be loved; we love to be held; we love to be caressed. A show of appreciation we love too. And we love to know we've been heard. The friends, the spouses, the children in our lives want the same from us. Like a garden that needs water, sun, weeding to nurture the growth, so does love need attending to. To become whole and healthy people, we need tender nurturing. And we also need to give away what we get. Those we nurture will bless our growth.

Love is dynamic, not static. It is always changing, and it always changes those it enfolds. Since coming into this program where the sharing of oneself, the open expression of love, is profoundly evident, we each have changed. And our presence has changed others. We have learned to accept love and give it. But better yet, we have learned that we deserve love.

I will look around me today at others, and I will remember my growth and theirs depends on loving and being loved. I will reach out. I can make love new.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

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June 13

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
--E. E. Cummings

One of the true gifts of recovery is that we learn to laugh again. No matter how beat up our spirits have been by our addiction, no matter how heavy or hard our hearts have become, one day we find ourselves laughing. The lightness in our hearts lets us know life is good.

It may happen in a meeting as we suddenly stop taking ourselves so seriously. It may happen as we learn to socialize again and share a joke or score a goal in a group of our new friends. It may happen as we look into the eyes of someone who loves us and our hearts bubble over with joy.

Laughter heals us. It is one of our heart's songs. There is always some in our life, somewhere - and we need only look in order to find it.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, please give me something today that will tickle me with joy or humor. Help me give in to the urge to laugh. I know my laughter is music to your ears.

Today's Action

When I notice something to laugh or smile about today, I will share it with others. Humor and joy are meant to be shared.

You are reading from the book:

God Grant Me... by Anonymous

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June 14

Change in all things is sweet.
-- Aristotle

Newcomer

I don't know why I'm still going through such emotional ups and downs at this point. I'm not in withdrawal, my body chemistry is no longer in chaos, and I know how to take better care of myself. I'm open to many new things, and I'm growing and changing faster than I ever expected. Why should I feel bad?

Sponsor

Each time I reach a new awareness, I have to go through a grieving process for the old me. Suddenly it feels as if I'm someone else, somewhere else. I'm not the person I was yesterday. Even if that person was less conscious and closer to active addiction, still, that person was the me I knew. Sometimes I miss that old familiar self. We'd spent a lot of time together.

Recovery awakens us to new possibilities. We have to change, experiment, take risks - even though we may think we detest change! Being alive and having joy sustains us. We may not have all the answers, but we want to ask the questions. Taking time for daily meditations helps us to find the peace and calm at our center. As recovery continues, the sense that everything is moving too quickly will slow down.

Today, though things may not be different, I am different.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

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June 15

It takes about ten years to get used to how old you are.
--Unknown

If it is hard to adjust to our age, how much harder it must be to realize we can't even run our own life with any degree of competence. Until we get used to that idea, we will keep having living troubles. Accepting our incompetence doesn't have to take forever, though. The Third Step is a shortcut that requires no action, only a decision.

Once the decision is made to turn our will and our life over to the care of God, things begin to happen. We are likely to find ourselves being drawn to spiritual people. Maybe we'll read a book or hear something as simple as the lyrics of a song that speak to us in a special way. God is acting on our decision. And we find ourselves a great deal happier in God's care than our own.

I'm getting used to the idea that God does a better job of running my life than I do.

You are reading from the book:

In God's Care by Karen Casey