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Today's Thought - June
June 1
We have all known people in our lives who supported us when we were most in need of their assistance. We knew we could count on them—not in some codependent way, where they just continued to let us stay stuck in damaging addictive patterns, but by lending us a hand up to help us out of the mire of self-destructive behaviors. Often, we did not acknowledge them for their important aid or for their actions that made a difference in our lives, because they were so reliable. Not only are such people ongoing good role models, but they can also inspire us to embody this important quality ourselves. This quality of being a reliable helper is not limited to teachers, health care professionals, or family. We are lifted up by the many individuals in the world who work with integrity and consistently do their job well. Their reliability is what enables the world to function, from the person who grew the food we ate this morning, to the mechanic who worked on our car, to the individual who made our clothes, to the person interviewing us for a job we really want. I honor those whose reliability assists me in everyday tasks, as well as those who lifted me from the abyss. Today's reading is from the book Cornerstones, Daily Meditations for the Journey into Manhood and Recovery |
June 2
Staying in the Present Moment Often, one of our biggest questions is “What’s going to happen?” We may ask this about our relationships, our career, our recovery, our life. It is easy to tangle ourselves up in worrisome thoughts. Worrying about what’s going to happen blocks us from functioning effectively today. It keeps us from doing our best now. It blocks us from learning and mastering today’s lessons. Staying in the now, doing our best, and participating fully today are all we need to do to assure ourselves that what’s going to happen tomorrow will be for the best. Worrying about what’s going to happen is a negative contribution to our future. Living in the here and now is ultimately the best thing we can do, not only for today, but for tomorrow. It helps our relationships, our career, our recovery and our life. Things will work out, if we let them. If we must focus on the future other than to plan, all we need to do is affirm that it will be good. I pray for faith that my future will be good if I live today well, and in peace. I will remember that staying in the present is the best thing I can do for my future. I will focus on what’s happening now instead of what’s going to happen tomorrow. Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go, Daily Meditations on Codependency |
Juen 3
Guilt has very quick ears to an accusation. ~Henry Fielding A fellow at a meeting told a strange story to make a point about the very human tendency to take on undeserved guilt. The story was about a little trick he liked to play in his office once in a while. It seems he would choose a fellow employee at random, approach him innocently, and whisper, “They know,” while looking around furtively. Then he would walk away quickly and watch what happened from a distance. Inevitably, he said, the recipient of this strange message first looked bewildered and then looked worried. Sometimes the person would start to sweat, the man said, and every time his frantic thoughts became nearly visible on his face: “Oh my God, how much do they know? What will they do about it? Will they tell anyone?” The point was that nearly everybody is vulnerable to shame. Even the innocent have a knee-jerk tendency to conceal and protect. How horrified would we be, he asked, if someone whispered “They know” to us? Would we panic? Or would we be healthy enough to laugh it off since there is nothing anyone else could know that we aren’t already dealing with? Today, I pray for the courage to keep on working through my fear. Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy, Daily Meditations for Adult Children |
June 4
Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light, even though for the moment you do not see. ~Bill Wilson At times, despair, sadness, and hopelessness fill us. None of us will get out of this world without experiencing tragedy. At these times, we turn to our Higher Power and the spiritual principles as guides. At these times especially, we turn to the fellowship. We are here to help each other, comfort each other, and offer sanctuary to each other. We are to be each other’s gifts. During our active addiction, when troubles came, we turned inward, pretending everything was okay. We acted as if we needed no one—mainly because we trusted no one. We were surrounded by darkness, inside and out. Recovery teaches us to trust in the “light,” to believe it is there even when we can’t see it. It may be as close as our next meeting or a phone call to our sponsor. In this, we must believe deeply. Prayer for the Day Higher Power, I look to you when I can’t see. Show me the light. I look to you for the guidance I cannot give myself. Show me the way and give me hope. Higher Power, thank you! Today's Action Today I will remember a time during my active addiction when I felt hopeless. I will reflect on what I learned from this and share my thoughts with a recovery friend. Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me, More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple |
June 5
If Winter comes Can Spring be far behind? ~Percy Bysshe Shelley We do not need to be afraid of winter. In winter, nature lies fallow in preparation for the new year. All life needs rest in order to grow with greater strength, and winter is the time of withdrawal that precedes renewal. Sometimes it may seem that our lives have become dark and hopeless, and we can’t see a way forward. Perhaps a relationship has gone sour, and we think it must be the end. Work goes badly; money is a problem; our children go away. We become lost in our melancholy and feel things will never get better. We can draw strength from the wisdom of the seasons. Bare trees will become clothed in green, and the hard earth will again yield harvests of plenty. We can appreciate this transformation as it happens every year, and we can take hope from it. We can also see our lives as bound to change. Nothing in my life need defeat me, since I know that spring and summer will always come again. Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart, Daily Meditations for Men and Women Recovering from Sex Addiction |
June 6
Healthy Pride Pride works from within; it is the direct appreciation of oneself. ~Arthur Schopenhauer Pride should not be feared. It is listed among the “seven deadly sins,” but that is arrogance or false pride, not healthy pride that is a necessary part of self-esteem. Our program teaches us that the pride that “goes before a fall” is an unhealthy state, a symptom of egotism, grandiosity, and arrogance. No harm will come to spiritual growth from the pride experienced when we freely admit to ourselves that any accomplishment of ours was not made by us alone. Humble pride acknowledges the guidance of others and faith in a Higher Power whom we call upon for inspiration and motivation. With humility and God’s help, I can learn to have healthy pride in my accomplishments and growth in the program. Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It, A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations |
June 7
People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind. ~J. B. Yeats It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but our intelligence only gets in the way when we’re dealing with things that really count: our feelings and how we express them. Love is the be-all and end-all. If we are capable of loving, we have nothing to worry about. If we’re having trouble expressing our loving nature, our priority must be to remove the barriers. One of those barriers is our belief in the overriding importance of our intelligence. Intelligence is like good looks; they are both unearned. And we can be sure that our Creator does not evaluate us on the basis of how intelligent we are. If we ask, God will help us overcome our reliance on our intelligence and all other handicaps that keep us from expressing love. The best part of my mind links me to others, and to God. Today's reading is from the book In God's Care, Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery |
June 8
… I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy. ~Marie Curie We are looking for progress, not perfection; however, we sometimes get lost or confused between the two. Expecting ourselves to be perfect at something we are only now learning is a familiar affliction. As we accept our humanness, we'll allow the mistakes that are a normal pan of the process of living and learning—a process we call progress. Our need to be perfect will lessen with time. And we can help ourselves break the old habits. Perfection and self-worth are not symbiotic, except in our minds. And it's a symbiosis that has done us a grave injustice. Breaking the old thought patterns takes a commitment. We must first decide and believe that we are worthwhile, simply because we are. There is only one of us; we have a particular gift to offer this world. And our being is perfect as is. Affirming this, repeatedly, is our beginning. But with this, too, progress will be slow; perfection need only be worked for, not achieved. The patterns l am weaving with my life are complex, full of intricate detail and knots. I need to go slow, taking only one stitch at a time. With hindsight l will see that whatever the progress, it was the perfect fit to the overall design. Today's reading is from the book Each Day a New Beginning, Daily meditations for Women |
June 9
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama The word compassion means literally to suffer with someone. We normally use the word more broadly to mean empathize, or feel, with a person. Moving out of the prison of our own self-centeredness, we grow in the ability to see the world through the eyes of others. We grow wiser and more effective in our own lives because we aren’t limited to one outlook. We learn to forgive ourselves and suddenly we are much freer with our forgiveness of others. There is a generosity of spirit in compassion, and the most generous attitude comes when we can act compassionately with someone we don’t especially like. Even though we may not choose a particular guy to be our best friend, we can accept and honor the hard times he has had, and we can put ourselves in his place to see what his challenges have been. Nothing is more admirable than a strong man acting generously and compassionately toward another human being. Today, I will strive to be generous with compassion and to see the world as someone else sees it. Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones, More Daily Meditations for Men |
June 10
AA Thought for the Day In AA we’re all through with lying, hangovers, remorse, and wasting money. When we were drinking, we were only half alive. Now that we’re trying to live decent, honest, unselfish lives, we’re really alive. Life has a new meaning for us, so that we can really enjoy it. We feel that we’re some use in the world. We’re on the right side of the fence, instead of on the wrong side. We can look the world in the face instead of hiding in alleys. We come into AA to get sober and if we stay long enough, we learn a new way of living. Am I convinced that no matter how much fun I got out of drinking, that life never was as good as the life I can build in AA? Meditation for the Day I want to be at one with the Divine Spirit of the universe. I will set my deepest affections on things spiritual not on things material. As we think, so we are. So I will think of and desire that which will help, not hinder, my spiritual growth. I will try to be at one with God. No human aspiration can reach higher than this. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may think love, and love will surround me. I pray that I may think health, and health will come to me. Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day, A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life |
June 11
The stream that was locked up for the winter now ripples and gurgles along its way. ~John F Gardner Winter presents us with a frozen world, silent, sometimes forbidding. It seems like such a harsh time, forcing us indoors, letting us out only when we're wrapped in extra woolens, extra boots, extra hats and mittens. But beneath the snow's blanket, the earth is resting. Just as we sleep at night, the earth naps, nurturing its roots and bulbs, replenishing its moisture and minerals, refreshing itself. Spring is the earth's first stirring; it opens one eye, then another, wiggles a toe, stretches, yawns. The earth rises, shaking leaves off, brushing twigs away. It sends new shoots up to welcome the day. We, too, are part of nature, and as such we experience our own seasons. Sometimes we are happy, full of energy, always able to handle obstacles. When we are down, when things seem to be too much for us to handle, we must remember that it is natural and proper to feel that way, and that soon, without our even trying, a new season will lift our hearts. When I feel low, what can I do best? Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift, Daily Meditations for Families |
June 12
When all else fails, read the instructions. ~Agnes Allen The instructions for recovery are in our Twelve Step program. Yet there are times when we feel our program isn’t working. At these times, we need to read the instructions. Have you followed the “instructions,” the wise words found in the Big Book, the Twelve and Twelve, and other recovery literature? When we do, we recover. It’s hard at times and easy at others. Our problems go deeper than just staying sober. No matter what our problems, our program can help us start fixing them, if we follow the instructions. Don’t use alcohol or other drugs. Go to meetings. Talk often with sponsors and program friends. Work the Steps. Think. Easy does it. First things first. Listen. Let go and let God. One day at a time. Prayer for the Day Higher Power, keep me coming back to the instructions. If I’m headed for trouble, help me out. Action for the Day I’ll read the instructions today. Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple, Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal |
June 13
How good and how pleasant it is that brothers sit together. ~Psalm 133:1 Men are lonely and more vulnerable to addictions and codependency when they have no firm friendships with other men. Do we have one or two male friends who truly know us, know what really goes on in our lives, what we feel, and what our doubts are? If we do, these relationships are precious. We need to nourish them. If we do not, we need to find others who might become friends. We begin by taking small steps in the development of a friendship. The joys of sharing with other men, finding humor in our mutual flaws, and joining in similar interests have no substitutes. Relationships develop when someone reaches out. It is easier for us to do this if we remember our friendship is a gift to someone else. We need friendships with both women and men in order to be whole. But understanding ourselves as men begins with closeness to other men. I am grateful for precious friendships with men and women in my life. They help me grow. Today, can I strengthen my friendship with another man? Today's reading is from the book Touchstones, A Book of Daily Meditations for Men |
June 14
Taking it slowly Let’s not make haste and demand perfection at once— this would only blind us. If we are impatient, we cannot work a daily program. But by exercising patience, we learn to recognize daily opportunities for growth. It is worth waiting for, striving for, and working to develop a relationship with our Higher Power. It cannot be done overnight. Let’s not go too fast, but count each day as a new opportunity. Am I learning to take it slowly? Higher Power, I pray that I may meet each day with patience and grow closer to you. I will take it easy today by… Today's reading is from the book Day by Day, Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts |
June 15
Reflection for the Day We’re taught in the program and the Twelve Steps that the chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear—mainly fear that we would lose something we already possessed or that we would fail to get something we demanded. Living on the basis of unsatisfied demands, we obviously were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration. Therefore, we are taught, no peace will be ours unless we find a means of producing these demands. Have I become entirely ready to have my Higher Power remove all my defects of character? Today I Pray May I make no unrealistic demands on life, which, because of their grandiosity, cannot be met. May I place no excessive demands on others which, when they are not fulfilled, leave me disappointed and let down. Today I Will Remember Today I will remember the setup for a letdown. Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time, Daily Reflections for Recovering People |
June 16
“Listen and learn”: It’s a slogan that becomes more useful the more we use it. It’s not easy to admit that we don’t listen well. We may appear to be listening when we’re deep in conversation, but how much do we really hear? There is a big difference between listening and hearing. From Twelve Step meetings and the sponsors and friends we acquire here, we have many opportunities to get the help we need, but we have to be willing first to listen and then to really hear what they tell us. Learning comes from hearing. What is it that we need to hear at these meetings? We need to hear that it’s possible to go on with our lives and be happy, even if the addict is still using. We need to hear that it’s possible to let go of trying to control other people and live our lives only. We need to hear how others have done an inventory and have begun to look honestly at themselves instead of others for a change. And we need to hear of the relief that comes with forgiveness. Over time we’ll learn many more things. This is only a beginning, but it’s a good place to start. I know others will be sharing messages I need to hear today. God, help me be willing to listen, hear, and learn. Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own, Meditations on Hope and Acceptance |
June 17
To protect and to serve are the core of the warrior’s credo. Society has always needed and honored this powerful energy—from Roman soldiers to ancient samurai, frontier sheriffs to modern-day military special forces. Highly solution focused, with a fierce determination to find a way through any obstacle, the warrior archetype represents the best of the human spirit. When bolstered by an inner quest to consciously expose, rather than blindly defend, one’s weaknesses, a warrior’s power can be highly transformative. The exploration of warrior energy is useful in so many different facets of our lives, especially during our most challenging moments. When our sobriety is threatened, or we are confronted by a serious health or financial crisis, we can summon our inner warrior’s courage, endurance, and strength. The way of the warrior asks us to not only test our physical limits, but to develop the mental clarity, emotional stability, and spiritual awareness we need in order to surrender our personal needs for a higher cause. There is a martial arts tradition that reminds us that once we achieve the rank of black belt—which takes years—we are finally “ready to learn.” I can skillfully use the powerful energy of my inner warrior to positively move forward in my life. Today's reading is from the book Cornerstones, Daily Meditations for the Journey into Manhood and Recovery |
June 18
Letting Go of Guilt “There’s a good trick that people in dysfunctional relationships use,” said one recovering woman. “The other person does something inappropriate or wrong, then stands there until you feel guilty and end up apologizing.” It’s imperative that we stop feeling so guilty. Much of the time, the things we feel guilty about are not our issues. Another person behaves inappropriately or in some way violates our boundaries. We challenge the behavior, and the person gets angry and defensive. Then we feel guilty. Guilt can prevent us from setting the boundaries that would be in our best interests, and in other people’s best interests. Guilt can stop us from taking healthy care of ourselves. We don’t have to let others count on the fact that we’ll always feel guilty. We don’t have to allow ourselves to be controlled by guilt—earned or unearned! We can break through the barrier of guilt that holds us back from self-care. Push. Push harder. We are not at fault, crazy, or wrong. We have a right to set boundaries and to insist on appropriate treatment. We can separate another’s issues from our issues, and let the person experience the consequences of his or her own behavior, including guilt. We can trust ourselves to know when our boundaries are being violated. Today, I will let go of my big and little guilty feelings. Light and love are on my side. Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go, Daily Meditations on Codependency |
June 19
I got fed up with rewarding my illness. It cost me too much. ~Marvin H. To reward something indicates that we value it. The payoff represents our hope that the same thing will happen again. Rewards are encouragements for repeat performances. Unaware, we can very easily reward our own illness. We do it by simply acting out our old, destructive habits and patterns—by keeping them with us, by practicing them. The more we act them out, the less aware we become. We reward illness when we feel afraid and then let that feeling halt our action. When we allow our shame to get the upper hand by getting into unrealistic expectations, we reward illness. When our low self-esteem nudges us into relationships that can only end in heartbreak, or when we allow unacceptable behavior to go unchallenged, we are rewarding illness. We don’t need to pay the high cost of feeding the disease by repeating these self-defeating patterns. We’ve paid enough for defeat; it’s time to invest in success. Today, I will throw my energy into positive redirection. Nothing I do today will cater to my illness. Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy, Daily Meditations for Adult Children |
June 20
Looking for beauty It is important that we look for beauty. There are beautiful things in the world each and every day, if we only know how to see. In recovery, in serenity, beauty is everywhere—even in pain and suffering—if we only know how to see. How good am I at seeing all the beauty there is to see? Higher Power, help me to use my recovery, my new vision, to see beauty. Today I will practice looking for beauty in… Today's reading is from the book Day by Day, Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts |
June 21
If the will remains in protest, the individual needs to ask, “Is there something in me that is a cause of, or contributes to, my paralysis?” ~Rollo May Trusting only our will is one of the characteristics of addiction. In our addiction, we used our will in a misguided way to try to deny the past or even change it. We used our will to try to control ourselves and others. Willpower, as such, has no place in recovery. Working a Twelve Step program helps us change the way we use our will. The more we realize that a Higher Power’s will is operating in our lives, the more we can use our will as it should be used—to make the efforts necessary to carry out God’s will for us. This takes us out of the past and into the present. Facing the past honestly, rather than applying our will to reinforce our version of the past, puts us firmly in the present, living today only. The past is over. I will find God’s will for me in what happens to me today. Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart, Daily Meditations for Men and Women Recovering from Sex Addiction |
June 22
Playing God He was like the cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. ~George Eliot Ego and conceit are familiar words to all of us. Self-centered and ego-inflated obsessions created the idea within our confused minds that we could control everyone and everything. We in recovery refer to that as “trying to play God.” The world’s great men and women credit their successes to the realization that they could not rule all of humankind. Those who never learned went down in disaster, as history proves. The lives of the great remind us that we can make our lives inspiring and leave footprints in the sands of time. We only need to follow their example of choosing to be trusted servants rather than arrogant tyrants. Our program teaches us that spiritual growth comes mainly from working in a simple manner with others as a team, all with a single purpose. One of the elementary reasons why I am told to work at my conscious contact with my Higher Power is so that I can stop the mistake of trying to play God. Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It, A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations |
June 23
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 for God’s opportunities. I will help myself grow today. Today's reading is from the book In God's Care, Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery |
June 24
l realized a long time ago that a belief which does not spring from a conviction in the emotions is no belief at all. ~Evelyn Scott From pillar to post we bounced, most of us not knowing what we actually believed about nearly any situation before getting to this program. Perhaps we believed what was most convenient at the time because of the people we were with. And maybe we jumped the fence quickly when in a new setting. Values were sometimes talked about but not defined, and certainly not adhered to. It's difficult to develop a strong sense of self, to have a very secure self-image when the parameters offered by a value system are lacking. Our values define who we are. They offer us direction when making choices. They quietly demand that we behave responsibly. Living in concert with our values brings peace to our souls. Gone are the days when we rode first one fence and then another, never knowing what side of any issue we honestly believed in. The program has offered us a plan for living, a plan that erases the many uncertainties, the inner turmoil of past years. Today will have a clarity about it that l can appreciate. I know who I am. I know what I believe. All I need do is act accordingly. Today's reading is from the book Each Day a New Beginning, Daily meditations for Women |
June 25
Man’s real home is not a house but the road, and life itself is a journey to be walked on foot. ~Bruce Chatwin We often say that one of our main needs in life is security. We want to be able to predict and control how things will play out. The problem with this view is that even when we gain more control, it doesn’t generally make us feel deeply secure. If we accept security as our goal, we are soon on an endless search for more. A much wiser goal is to walk the road of life, accepting that it is always insecure. Happiness isn’t found by pursuing happiness, and a sense of security isn’t found by grasping for more security. They are both found by indirect means. We find security by making peace with our insecurity and by trusting our Higher Power to care for our lives. We find happiness by taking on work that has meaning beyond ourselves. Today, I will walk on foot the journey that has meaning and value, and I’ll accept the insecure feelings that are part of life. Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones, More Daily Meditations for Men |
June 26
AA Thought for the Day As we became alcoholics, the bad effects of drinking came more and more to outweigh the good effects. But the strange part of it is that, no matter what drinking did to us—loss of our health, our jobs, our money, and our homes—we still stuck to it and depended on it. Our dependence on drinking became an obsession. In AA, we find a new outlook on life. We learn how to change from alcoholic thinking to sober thinking. And we find out that we can no longer depend on drinking for anything. We depend on a Higher Power instead. Have I entirely given up dependence on drinking? Meditation for the Day I will try to keep my life calm and unruffled. This is my great task, to find peace and acquire serenity. I must not harbor disturbing thoughts. No matter what fears, worries, and resentments I may have, I must try to think of constructive things until calmness comes. Only when I am calm can I act as a channel for God’s spirit. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may build up instead of tear down. I pray that I may be constructive and not destructive. Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day, A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life |
June 27
We, too, the children of the earth, have our moon phases all through any year; the darkness, the delivery from darkness, the waxing and waning. ~Faith Baldwin Let us think, for a moment, about the changes of the moon. In the beginning of its cycle, it is just a sliver in the darkness. Each night it grows larger until it reaches its full size. When the moon is full and rising, its orange glow fills the sky. All night its gentle light brightens everything it touches. But this fullness is only part of the life of the moon. For a while it grows smaller, then turns its dark side toward us before reappearing as a sliver and growing again to fullness. We are children of the earth, and we have our different moods and phases, too. There will be periods of darkness when we try to find our way by the light of the stars. Again and again we will grow to our full size, only to fade and grow again in a new way. How does God light my way, even in dark times? Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift, Daily Meditations for Families |
June 28
Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed. ~Bertrand Russell In recovery we learn to give up hate. We must stand for justice, not for hate. We must learn to respect people. They, in turn, will respect us in most cases. We begin to see how important it is to give up hate—if we want others to care for us. Hate is often one of our secrets. Hate is found deep in our hearts and minds. It eats at our souls. It hurts our spiritual growth. Sometimes people are public about their hate. There are even dangerous groups based on hate. But, the most dangerous hate is the private and unspoken. Do I have public hates? Do I have secret hates? Prayer for the Day Higher Power, search my heart and show me any hates I have. Help me rid myself of them. Action for the Day I’ll list any people, nations, or creeds I hate. I will put in work to remove these feelings of hate. I’ll pray for these people, nations, or creeds. Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple, Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal |
June 29
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box. ~Italian proverb Much of our time has been spent saying, “I’m not good enough for that job,” “She’s too good for me,” or “I don’t deserve that compliment.” Sometimes we have been very status-conscious because underneath we felt unworthy. Many of us have taken either superior or inferior roles with everyone we’ve dealt with. We ended up with no one who could be our peer or our friend. True humility occurs when we stop shaming or inflating ourselves and begin accepting ourselves as no worse and no better than anyone else. Then all people are our peers. At our meetings, our powerlessness puts us all in the same box. In the sight of God, we are all equal—and the status games that used to seem so important are ultimately silly. Today, I will remember we are all brothers and sisters in the sight of God. Today's reading is from the book Touchstones, A Book of Daily Meditations for Men |
June 30
Compassion is the ability to see how it all is. ~Ram Dass Compassion means caring about other people. When we remember to ask others how it is for them—right now—that is compassion. We listen. We “Live and let live.” We keep on caring. We try to understand. We accept. As compassionate people we accept each other, even though we all see things in different ways. We have different ideas about spirituality, family life, and politics. We have different things happening in our lives that bring us joy or pain. We are in different times of our lives—being students, being parents, being together with another person, being alone, learning what to do with our strength and energy, or learning how to survive our weakness and depression. When we see these differences, we learn to give to others when we can. We learn to ask for help when we need it. We learn to listen to others, to be there for them. And we learn to share our troubles and let them be there for us. That’s how compassion works. Prayer for the Day Higher Power, let me be there for others today with compassion. Help me to treat others with the same dignity and compassion that you treat me. Today's Action When I hear about other people’s troubles today, I will really listen, treat them with compassion, and say a little prayer for them. Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me, More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple |
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