Today's Thought - July

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July 1

When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself.

~Isaac Bashevis Singer

Any action or expression we make toward another comes back to us. Maybe not today, but it assuredly returns: we do sow what we reap. If we treat others hatefully, or with disdain and suspicion, we eventually get the same in return. And we can also have a love-filled, affirming life if we willingly, gladly, and honestly offer our love to others with no conditions.

We can bring ourselves misery or happiness through our actions. With the help of our Higher Power, we can sow only what we want to reap. It’s a small decision to turn within for guidance. Although it takes practice to remember to let our Higher Power direct our actions, it will become a habit in time—the healthiest habit we’ll ever develop.

I will experience what I give to others through my actions today.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery*

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July 2

AA Thought for the Day

There is only one day—today. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burden of those two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives us mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday or the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore do our best to live but one day at a time. Am I living one day at a time?
Meditation for the Day

Give God the gift of a thankful heart. Try to see causes for thankfulness in your everyday life. When life seems hard and troubles crowd, then look for some reasons for thankfulness. There is nearly always something you can be thankful for. The offering of thanksgiving is indeed a sweet incense going up to God throughout a busy day. Seek diligently for something to be glad and thankful about. You will acquire, in time, the habit of being constantly grateful to God for all His blessings. Each new day some new cause for joy and gratitude will spring to your mind, and you will thank God sincerely.
Prayer for the Day

I pray for a truly thankful heart. I pray that I may be constantly reminded of causes for sincere gratitude.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

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July 3

My name is Elizabeth. I have a gift. It is called alcoholism.

~Elizabeth Farrell

Many of us didn’t feel alcoholism or addiction was a gift when we first got into recovery. We felt shame or perhaps anger that we couldn’t drink or use like other women. Alcohol or other drugs made us feel less self-conscious and more courageous. Accepting that we couldn’t handle these substances meant feeling the fear of many situations, perhaps for the first time.

But most of us have come to appreciate the rewards of sobriety. When we were using, our lack of consistent values caused us to stumble many times. Now we have the Steps as guiding principles for every action we take.

We also have warm friendships that are healing our loneliness. We no longer harbor anger and self-pity. We are more peaceful and secure. Having a Higher Power we can trust makes any new experience tolerable. Addiction and sobriety are both gifts we have been graced with, and we are coming to appreciate this more each day.

I will show God my appreciation for the gifts of addiction and sobriety by carrying the message through my behavior today.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

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July 4

Freedom and Sobriety

Thomas Jefferson put it this way: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” That adage inspires me. But I’ve changed it up a bit to fit with life in recovery. The way I frame it is, “With sobriety comes freedom, and with freedom comes responsibility.”

This means that you need to follow whatever your program is. You need to be honest and fess up to any mistakes you’ve made. And you need to live your life in a responsible way. If you do those things, you will be happy, joyous, and free. That’s what recovery costs, and it’s well worth the price.

Today I will be responsible in order to maintain the freedom I have in sobriety.

~J. D., U.S. Army, 1985–1993/1998–2018

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*

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July 5


Listening to a caring friend is one of the ways we hear God’s message.

We think we listen, probably because we are in conversation with other people so often. But our own ongoing inner dialogue often shuts out much of what someone is saying. Whether at Twelve Step meetings or at lunch with a friend, we’re preoccupied with the many people in our lives, or maybe our jobs, or an event we are organizing. Our minds get filled with the clutter of other times, other places, and we fail to hear the message at this single moment.

Peace will come to us when we slow down and quietly listen. When we remember that our friends are often the channel God relies on to reach us, we are eager to hear their words. Since seeking recovery, we have also become seekers of God’s will. We may hear our next direction in a friend’s suggestion today.

I will quietly listen to the loving words of my friends today.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own: Meditations on Hope and Acceptance*

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July 6

Life is not a “brief candle.” It is a splendid torch that I want to make burn as brightly as possible before handing on to future generations.

~George Bernard Shaw

We are men who have sought intensity. Some have said the extremes of our past were a kind of search for a Higher Power, although we went to self-defeating ends. There is no need now for us to give up our intense love of life. Serenity need not be bland. In facing ourselves, confronting our pain, surrendering our arrogant individualism, we are released to live the life we deeply desire. What do men really want? We want to have true, lasting friendships with other men and women—to be at peace with ourselves and our Higher Power. We want to be fully aware in the present moments of our lives.

We want to have some joy and to make a contribution to the world.

I am grateful that my torch burns brightly. I am finding what I really want.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*

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July 7

I have listened to the realm of the Spirit. I have heard my own soul's voice, and l have remembered that love is the complete and unifying thread of existence.

~Mary Casey

The act of loving someone else brings us together, closes whatever the gap between us. It draws us into the world of another, making richer the world we call our own. Love is the great equalizer.

We no longer wish to conquer or dominate those whom we love. And our love for one increases our capacity for loving others. Love heals another, and love heals ourselves, both giving it and receiving it.

Love from another acknowledges our existence, assuring us that we do count, that our presence is valued by someone else. It is human to need these reminders, these assurances. But our need for them is lessened each time we acknowledge another person in our midst.

Where love is absent, people, even in a crowd, feel alone, forgotten, unimportant. No doubt we can each recall times of quiet desperation—moments of alienation. We must reach out to someone and send thoughts of love to someone who may need to be remembered. Our loving thoughts for persons close and far away always reach their destination. They do unify us.

Love is powerful. It can change the complexion of the universe. It will change the direction of my life.

Today's reading is from the book Each Day a New Beginning: Daily meditations for Women*

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July 8

Letting go of anger

As long as anger dominates us, it is difficult to make progress in the program. Some of the ways anger shows up include gossip, slander, backstabbing, profanity, fault-finding, resentment, quarrelsomeness, impatience, mockery, and irritability. We are all guilty of these behaviors to some degree, probably every day.

Anger is a pattern that we need to change to make progress. It has probably caused more grief than any other character defect. To let go of anger, we inventory it; we pray to release it and to practice not getting angry.

Am I working on my anger?

Higher Power, help me to practice the virtues of patience and love. When I am loving, I cannot be angry.

I will inventory my anger today, and then I will…

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

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July 9

Reflection for the Day

In many respects, the fellowship of the program is like a reasonably happy cruise ship or, in times of trouble, like a convoy. But in the long run, each of us must chart our own course through life. When the seas are smooth, we may become careless. By neglecting Step Ten, we may get out of the habit of checking our position. If we’re mindful of Step Ten, however, then we rarely go so far wrong that we can’t make a few corrections and get back on course again. Do I realize that regular practice of Step Ten can help to bring me into a happier frame of mind and into serenity?
Today I Pray

May Step Ten be the sextant by which I read my whereabouts at sea, so that I can correct my course, rechart it as I am heading for shallow places. May I keep in mind that, if it weren’t for an all-knowing Captain and the vigilance of my fellow crew members, this ship could be adrift and I could easily panic.
Today I Will Remember

To steer by a steady star.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People*

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July 10

Hurry, hurry has no blessing.

~Swahili proverb

In a busy family there is a lot of activity. We sometimes feel imprisoned by all the work, school, extra* curricular activities, housework, meetings, and special events. In the press to do it all, we may lose our peace because of the hurry. We rush to eat; we rush to work; we rush to get there on time. Much of this cannot be helped. But hurry has no blessing, as the proverb goes. We can create quick tempers and a lot of frustration if we try to hurry too much.

When we allow enough time to slow things down, we give ourselves a chance to enjoy what we're doing, and to develop along spiritual lines. Inner peace depends on our keeping a balance in all the things we do. Only then can we feel the joy that comes from having enough time to do things quietly and smoothly, and value the inner peace that comes when we do not hurry.

How can I take my time today and enjoy myself?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

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July 11

If you are here to read this, think of those who aren’t … Think of their great sacrifice.

~Mel Ash

For every one of us who has recovered from addiction, there are dozens who have gone mad or died or who have denied their dreams. Some have survived merely to lead, in Henry David Thoreau’s words, “lives of quiet desperation.”

When we think of the sickness, suffering, and despair of those who have died or who are still active in their addictions, our response need not be moral judgment, survivor’s guilt, or denial. We can feel compassion for them as well as for those—including ourselves—on whom their lives have had an impact.

We can acknowledge that others have been a part of our own path to recovery and thank them in our hearts. We can recognize how little separates our lives from theirs. We can appreciate life’s fragility and riskiness, rejoice in the freedom recovery affords, and commit ourselves to becoming all we can be in the time we’ve been given. We can enfold those who still suffer in the love and warmth of our thoughts, praying that they achieve peace.

Today, I feel my connection to all those who are suffering, and I pray for their well-being.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day

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July 12

God as We Understand God

God is subtle, but he is not malicious.

~Albert Einstein

Recovery is an intensely spiritual process that asks us to grow in our understanding of God. Our understanding may have been shaped by early religious experiences or the beliefs of those around us. We may wonder if God is as shaming and frightening as people can be. We may feel as victimized or abandoned by God as we have by people from our past.

Trying to understand God may boggle our mind because of what we have learned and experienced so far in our life. We can learn to trust God, anyway.

I have grown and changed in my understanding of this Power greater than myself. My understanding has not grown on an intellectual level, but because of what I have experienced since I turned my life and my will over to the care of God, as I understood, or rather didn’t understand, God.

God is real. Loving. Good. Caring. God wants to give us all the good we can handle. The more we turn our mind and heart toward a positive understanding of God, the more God validates us.

The more we thank God for who God is, who we are, and the exact nature of our present circumstances, the more God acts in our behalf. In fact, all along, God planned to act in our behalf.

God is Creator, Benefactor, and Source. God has shown me, beyond all else, that how I come to understand God is not nearly as important as knowing that God understands me.

Today, I will be open to growing in my understanding of my Higher Power. I will be open to letting go of old, limiting, negative beliefs about God. No matter how I understand God, I will be grateful that God understands me.

Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency*

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July 13

The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

~From Luke 16:8

When we think of our child within, many of us sense only the wounded child—the child who feels afraid, inadequate, needy, and shut out. It is true, of course, that we all have a child within. But that child is wise and strong, as well as wounded.

Beneath the fears and doubts, deeper than the guilt and shame, our inner child knows some truths that our adult selves aren’t always sure of. That child, like all children, wants to imagine and play, to unconditionally love and be loved, to find out what’s really important and to care about it. Even if the child was not allowed to act out those wants, the wants remain, stored away. Our child within still wants, craves, and reaches out for the eternal truths of successful living. We need to pay heed to our child’s sense of wisdom and trust, as well as to give that child within us our adult capacity for sympathy and comfort.

I can allow myself a childlike wonder and curiosity. I will look at the world today with new eyes.

Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy: Daily Meditations for Adult Children*

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July 14

is not a duty but a privilege. Service is taking gifts given to us and using them to improve the world and lives of others. It is energy directed toward good. We are designed to be givers and not just takers. When we help another, we can feel our soul smile.

Our illness stole our sense of value, our self-worth. Service helps us to reconnect and see our value and worth. Many say that it was through service work that they first experienced a spiritual awakening. This was their soul smiling, being happy and saying, “Thank you for letting me be involved in life again. Thank you for letting me dance with the souls of others again.”
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, show me a need and give me the power and desire to step out of self and into service. Help me act from my values and not my shame.
Today's Action

Today I will volunteer to do some service work. I will walk through my day looking for suffering that I can help lessen.

Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me: More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple*

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July 15

Often the test of courage is not to die, but to live.

~Vittorio Alfieri

Step Six strengthens our relationship with God. Through it, we develop the willingness to let go of the character defects we admitted in Step Five. To be ready is to acknowledge that we cannot remove our own character defects. We tried that—it’s called addiction. Instead, we turn with faith, trust, and humility to a Power greater than ourselves. We believe a Higher Power can and will remove our shortcomings.

We have often said we want to change. Step Six challenges us to act on what we say. If we want to live in recovery, we must be willing to give up our character defects. We must be willing to give up everything that keeps us from our Higher Power. We don’t have to be perfectly willing, only as entirely willing as we can be at this moment. The point of readiness is the still center where we wait with confidence, knowing that our Higher Power is working in our lives.

Today I will be open to the moments of readiness that come to me.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

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July 16

Grace

But for the grace of God, there go I.

~John Bradford

When we come in contact with those who have not yet found the program, our first reaction is one of relief and gratitude. “There but for the grace of God, go I,” we think. The next reaction is “How can I help them find what I’ve found?”

Before we began recovery, we would have traded in our lives for almost anyone else’s. Now after a time on the program, we feel differently about ourselves. We hear people giving thanks for their disease. They tell us without their disease they wouldn’t have found the program, and without the program they wouldn’t have found recovery.

We quit our addiction before, and it never produced this sense of well-being. The difference is the program, the fellowship, and our connection with a Higher Power.

Whatever it was that brought me to the program, I have learned to be thankful for it. As I come in contact with those who still suffer, I can never forget that if it weren’t for the grace of God, I would be where they are today.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*

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July 17

Prayer is less about changing the world than it is about changing ourselves.

~David J. Wolpe

Regardless of how we understand a Power greater than ourselves, prayer is an important part of our lives. Relating to a Higher Power leads us out of our egotism into a conscious relationship with powers far beyond ourselves.

How do we pray? We can use words to state what’s on our mind. We can say them silently or out loud. We can quiet our mind and simply enter into the peace of God, opening our mind to receive that deeper wisdom. Drawing pictures can be a form of prayer. Playing music or listening to music can be done prayerfully. This is not so much a time to ask for special favors as a time to enter the relationship and to receive the guidance that comes from beyond our own power and conscious will.

Today, I will quiet my mind for a few minutes and enter consciously into a prayerful relationship with my Higher Power.

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones: More Daily Meditations for Men*

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July 18

We will learn to let others help us if we work our program. Why? Because we need others to stay sober. When we have a problem, we talk about it in our group. When we need a shoulder to cry on, we call a friend or our sponsor. Over time, our relationships become one of the biggest rewards of recovery.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me see my need for others as a test—a test to see if I’ll be brave enough and wise enough to ask for help when I need it.
Action for the Day

Today I’ll list four times in my life when I needed help but didn’t ask for it. I’ll tell a friend about how these times would’ve been different if I had asked for help.

Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal*

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July 19

Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift to himself.

~Mother Teresa

In praying, some of us depend on the traditions of our religion, others on the instructions of spiritual leaders. Some of us just strike out on our own, not knowing what to say or what to do, yet believing that form is not as important as intent. We only know that when we do pray, something happens.

And each time we lift our thoughts to God, it is easier the next time. Then, as we keep praying, we discover that we have begun to establish a familiarity. Our heart is opening to God without our realizing it. When we are willing, God fills our heart. And even though we can leave God, and often do, God never leaves us.

I am grateful that God is in my heart. My prayer is one of thanks.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery*

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July 20

I always thought some people were just born with self-esteem and others not. The fact is, the people with self-esteem may have learned to develop it sooner than others, and now it’s my turn.

~Laurel Lewis

One element of our growth is making new choices for ourselves. One of our choices is to have the self-esteem that is our right as a human being.

Some women may have never struggled with low self-esteem. Certainly, many women were born into families where unconditional love helped to develop the kind of self-esteem we crave. Yet with the help of this program and our Higher Power, we too will begin to feel a full measure of self-esteem.

Having self-esteem is really nothing more than beginning to understand and then accepting our worthiness in this vast panorama called life. We have always mattered to God and our fellow travelers, or we wouldn’t be here. It’s our beliefs that need to change—nothing more. We are worthy and loved children of God.

Self-esteem does not have to elude me today. My worth is guaranteed. God doesn’t make junk!

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

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July 21

Humility

For alcoholics like me, humility is really hard. For me, it’s like I’m either the best of the best or the worst of the worst—it’s hard to stomach being in the middle. But God doesn’t want me to live like I’m better than other people.

This is hard, especially being in the military, because you know they tell you that, out of all the people in America, only point-whatever percent actually are in the military. And of those, only this other tiny percent actually graduate boot camp and all that.

And so it really puts us on this high horse, and it’s hard to get off that pedestal. It’s tough.

Today I will remember that I am no better or worse than anyone else, and I will focus on remaining humble.

~Sean A., U.S. Army, 2007–2011

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*

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July 22

God is our partner.

We can have freedom from fear. All we have to do is accept our Higher Power as our daily companion. This may sound simple, but many of us, instead of relying on God, have been adamantly self-reliant. It’s hard to break this habit. We may also struggle with the possibility that God won’t do things our way.

We are learning from our program friends that when life isn’t unfolding as we had anticipated, it’s because God has other plans. Getting used to this idea will make fear a rare emotion. And we’ll have much more time to enjoy the pleasures of life.

Fear won’t trouble me today if I remember that God is my companion.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own: Meditations on Hope and Acceptance*

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July 23

They have rights who dare defend them.

~Roger Baldwin

There is a hard side to emotional health and manhood. As we grow, we gain many more sides, more ways of responding to the situations we meet. We learn that yielding to God sometimes means letting our full strength flow to defend our rights and ward off intrusion or disrespect. As we have become more loving and tolerant, we have become more assertive for our rights and those of others.

We must speak up for ourselves and for our points of view. We must not let others demean us or put us down, nor can we take on blame for others’ life problems. When we ought to stand up for ourselves and don’t, we may be invaded by a false feeling that we are crazy or bad. As recovering men, we sometimes must call on our hard side and say, “No! I will not be a doormat for the harmful actions of others. I will defend my rights.”

I will cultivate my relationship with my Higher Power and let that lead me to stand up for myself.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*

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July 24

Living the “today” approach

We must understand from the very beginning that in the program, we learn to live one day at a time. We learn, for example, not to take that first fix, pill, or drink “today.” This is easier for us to do than to think of abstaining for years or a lifetime.

But many of us miss the fact that the “today” approach can be applied to all areas of our life, not just abstinence. It helps if we can deal with issues such as love, sex, death, honesty, and resentments one day at a time. Our Higher Power expects no more of us than to do what we can do today.

Am I living “today” today?

Higher Power, help me live the “today” approach in all areas of my life.

Today I will apply the “today” approach to…

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

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July 25

Reflection for the Day

“It is the privilege of wisdom to listen,” Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote. If I try as hard as I can to cultivate the art of listening—uncritically and without making premature judgments—chances are great that I’ll progress more rapidly in my recovery. If I try as hard as I can to listen to the feelings and thoughts expressed—rather than to the “speaker”—I may be blessed with an unexpectedly helpful idea. The essential quality of good listening is humility, which reflects the fact that my Higher Power’s voice speaks to us even through the least and most inarticulate of people. Does a holier-than-thou attitude sometimes close my mind to the shared suggestions of others?
Today I Pray

May my Higher Power keep me from being “holier-than-thou” with anyone whose manner or language or opposite point of view or apparent lack of knowledge turns me off to what they are saying. May I be listening always for my Higher Power’s voice, which can be heard through the speech of any and all of us.
Today I Will Remember

Hear the speech, not the speaker.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People*

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July 26

He wanted to hold onto his fury, to guard it like a treasure. He would not let it be stolen from him. But already, he felt it slipping, softened by Ben's compassionate touch.

~Joe Johnston and Nilo Rodis-Jamero

The glassblower is an artist who takes broken glass and melts it in a very hot furnace. Then the glassblower blows through a long tube and creates objects such as cups and plates and pieces of art.

The sharp edges of our anger are like pieces of broken glass. We all have things in our lives that anger us—it is only human to bump into our sharp edges. One edge might be crabby, another silent and withdrawn, and still another yelling and screaming.

The heat of love and compassion can melt our anger. This may take the form of sympathy for ourselves, or for the people we love. More often, it is the compassion of those around us that helps melt our anger. Sometimes saying I'm sorry is a good way to melt anger and find the love underneath it.

What beauty can I create with my anger today?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

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July 27

I’ve trust enough in all that’s happened in my life, the unexpected love and gentleness that rushes in to fill the arid spaces in my heart.

~Tim Dlugos

We sometimes think that it’s up to us to solve whatever problems we encounter and to find immediate solutions. We forget the humility of trust: trust that we’re not in charge of everything, trust in others’ capacity for healing in their own time and in their own way, trust in our own capacity to receive the love and sustenance in which our world abounds.

Our spirits thrive, not because we’ve found a reason for everything or because we’ve gotten our own way at last, but because at least for this moment we’ve surrendered. Our Higher Power’s guidance will take us on the next step of the journey. This day will sustain and surprise us.

Trust that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Today, I trust the process of my life.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day: Daily Meditations for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People*

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July 28

Wisdom arises from the sharing of concerned, intelligent people.

~Rev. Bob McClendon

Most meetings circulate a phone list. The people who have put their phone numbers there want us to call them. An important part of working their program is “giving it away to keep it.” The point is they need us as badly as we need them; the help goes both ways.

Why call? Because these are sharing, caring, supportive people—people who will say, “You don’t have to go it alone unless you choose to. Please don’t. We can’t choose for you, but we want you to know we understand, we love you, and we are here.”

As hard as it is for most of us to start using that phone list, it is a vital element in our support system. If we need to talk, we shouldn’t hesitate to pick up the phone.

I will use my group’s roster list, understanding the one I call may need to share with me as badly as I need to share.

Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy: Daily Meditations for Adult Children*

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July 29

Directness

So much of our communication can reflect our need to control. We say what we think others want to hear. We try to keep others from getting angry, feeling afraid, going away, or disliking us. But our need to control traps us into feeling like victims and martyrs.

Freedom is just a few words away. Those words are our truths. We can say what we need to say. We can gently, but assertively, speak our mind.

Let go of your need to control. We do not need to be judgmental, tactless, blaming, or cruel when we speak our truths. Neither do we need to hide our light. Let go, and freely be who you are.

Today, I will be honest with myself and others, knowing that if I don’t, my truth will come out some other way.

Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency*

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July 30

To face the facts meant dealing with betraying our illness. It meant admitting we were lost and in need of help from others.

Recovery, from Step One onward, is about confronting our issues straight on. We take personal inventory a lot in order to break through our denial and bond with the truth. We face, directly when possible, the people we have hurt because the fact is we have hurt many, and we have a responsibility to try to help heal these wounds. As we do these actions, we watch ourselves become stronger. Our confidence—not arrogance—grows. Do we always like facing the facts? No! But our lives aren’t based only on feelings anymore. They are based on doing the next right thing.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, with your help and guidance I can break through my wall of denial. Show me the things I need to face.
Today's Action

Sometime during the day, I will sit down and make a list of issues I am avoiding. I’ll commit to talking with my sponsor about what is on the list.

Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me: More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple*

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July 31

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.

~Pearl S. Buck

When we’re out of sorts with everyone and everything, and we realize that we’re the one who needs to change, that’s growth.

When we mind our own business and don’t take the inventory of another, that’s growth.

When we don’t expect anyone to change their opinion simply because it differs from ours, that’s growth.

When we think we’re right at one moment then are proven wrong the next, and are happy about it because we’ve learned something, that’s growth.

When we are as happy about another’s progress as we are about our own, that’s growth.

When we welcome each new day instead of dreading it, that’s growth.

I used to seek happiness in material things and over dependence on other people. Now growth itself is happiness.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*