Daily Motivation 3-4-2013

Monday, March 4, 2011

Today's Gift

I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume, you shall assume. —Walt Whitman

Some of us may think Walt Whitman must have been terribly conceited to have written words like that. But he wasn't. He knew himself well, and accepted himself, even his darker side. He could laugh at himself and celebrate his humanness.

And because he loved and accepted himself just as he was, others could do the same. That's difficult to understand sometimes, but it's true: no one else is going to love and accept us until we come to love and accept ourselves.

We teach others how to treat us by the way we treat ourselves, so perhaps it makes sense to apply a variation of the Golden Rule: "Do unto ourselves as we would have others do unto us."

Can I allow my kindness to myself overflow to another person today?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

 

Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
--Emily Dickinson

 

We often hum and sing to ourselves because it makes us feel content. It is the melody itself that makes us feel good--words and thoughts do not matter.

 

Having hope for ourselves and for our universe is like having a melody always moving inside us. The melody may be calm or exciting, but most of all it brings with it beauty and a sense of peace. Hope can overcome the need for words and thoughts and promises. Hope is the melody that keeps us going, the hum that continues even when there are no words to the song. Hope is not a melody we think about--it must come when we believe in the goodness of our world.

 

If we have faith in a power greater than ourselves, we will be able to find the melody of hope inside us at all times.

 

Action for the Day: Today I will remember that the power of faith within me is far greater than any fear before me.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Expectations

We had approached AA expecting to be taught self-confidence.
Then we had been told that so far as alcohol is concerned,
self-confidence was no good whatever;
in fact, it was a total liability.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 22

Thought to Ponder . . .
What I am is my Higher Power's gift to me.
What I make of myself is my gift to Them.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
W O W = Willingness Over Willpower

 

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Daily Motivation

Actually do it

It’s great to know precisely what you want, and why you want it, and how to make it happen, but that’s not enough. You have to actually do it.

It’s helpful to learn all the skills, techniques, clever tricks and strategies, yet just knowing all those things won’t make anything happen. You have to make it happen.

You can read books, watch videos, go to seminars, hire a coach and do all sorts of other things to prepare yourself. Yet you also must put all that knowledge and preparation into action, day after day after day.

Achievement happens only when you actually do it. And the only time you can actually do it is now.

Complaining about how bad you’ve had it, or how unfair life is, doesn’t count. Waiting until conditions are perfect doesn’t count.

Focused, purposeful, positive, effective action is what counts. And right now is the time to actually do it.

— Ralph Marston