FEAR
“Fear is not created by the world around us,
but in the mind, by what we think is going to happen.”
Elizabeth Gawain
There are different kinds of fear. Certain fears are good, because they help preserve our lives. Babies, for example, have a fear of falling. It just seems to be a natural instinct. Any fear that protects us from harming ourselves is a good fear.
However, when fear becomes an obsession, it is getting out of hand. Why do we go looking for trouble? There is a saying, “Don’t let clouds of fear of the morrow hide today’s sunshine.” We can get so anxious about what’s going to happen in the future that we don’t enjoy living today.
Life is a precious gift to be lived one day at a time, and is to be shared with others.
One Day at a Time . . .
This is how I will live my life: One day at a time, one moment at a time, sharing my precious gift with another through Twelve Step giving.
Lizzie
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Each Day a New Beginning
The universal human yearning (is) for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change.
—Willa Cather
The specter of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. And they announce our readiness for more growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us come with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Change means I am progressing, on course.
—Willa Cather
The specter of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. And they announce our readiness for more growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us come with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Change means I am progressing, on course.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey
© 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.
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Food for Thought
Accepting God's Will
Disappointments and hurts can send us into an orgy of self-pity if we are not willing to accept them as part of our Higher Power's plan. We do not understand why we must suffer disappointments and frustrations, but trusting God means that we accept our share of this world's pain.
When we look back on former disappointments, we are often able to see that what we so desperately wanted at the time would not have been the best thing for us. Our vision and judgment are limited. Faith that God is managing our lives according to His purposes can relieve us of unnecessary hurt and frustration.
To accept God's will is not to passively absorb all that happens to us like an inert sponge. It is to actively seek knowledge of His plan for our lives and to purposefully work according to the knowledge we receive. Acceptance is positive and cooperative.
Your will is what I seek to accept.
Disappointments and hurts can send us into an orgy of self-pity if we are not willing to accept them as part of our Higher Power's plan. We do not understand why we must suffer disappointments and frustrations, but trusting God means that we accept our share of this world's pain.
When we look back on former disappointments, we are often able to see that what we so desperately wanted at the time would not have been the best thing for us. Our vision and judgment are limited. Faith that God is managing our lives according to His purposes can relieve us of unnecessary hurt and frustration.
To accept God's will is not to passively absorb all that happens to us like an inert sponge. It is to actively seek knowledge of His plan for our lives and to purposefully work according to the knowledge we receive. Acceptance is positive and cooperative.
Your will is what I seek to accept.
From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L.
©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.
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The Language of Letting Go
Opening Ourselves to Love
Open ourselves to the love that is available to us.
We do not have to limit our sources of love. God and the Universe have an unlimited supply of what we need, including love.
When we are open to receiving love, we will begin to receive it. It may come from the most surprising places, including from within us.
We will be open to and aware of the love that is and has been there for us all along. We will feel and appreciate the love from friends. We will notice and enjoy the love that comes to us from family.
We will be ready to receive love in our special love relationships too. We do not have to accept love from unsafe people - people who will exploit us or with whom we don't want to have relationships.
But there is plenty of good love available - love that heals our heart, meets our needs, and makes our spirit sing.
We have denied ourselves too long. We have been martyrs too long. We have given so much and allowed ourselves to receive too little. We have paid our dues. It is time to continue the chain of giving and receiving by allowing ourselves to receive.
Today, I will open myself to the love that is coming to me from the Universe. I will accept it and enjoy it when it comes.
Open ourselves to the love that is available to us.
We do not have to limit our sources of love. God and the Universe have an unlimited supply of what we need, including love.
When we are open to receiving love, we will begin to receive it. It may come from the most surprising places, including from within us.
We will be open to and aware of the love that is and has been there for us all along. We will feel and appreciate the love from friends. We will notice and enjoy the love that comes to us from family.
We will be ready to receive love in our special love relationships too. We do not have to accept love from unsafe people - people who will exploit us or with whom we don't want to have relationships.
But there is plenty of good love available - love that heals our heart, meets our needs, and makes our spirit sing.
We have denied ourselves too long. We have been martyrs too long. We have given so much and allowed ourselves to receive too little. We have paid our dues. It is time to continue the chain of giving and receiving by allowing ourselves to receive.
Today, I will open myself to the love that is coming to me from the Universe. I will accept it and enjoy it when it comes.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
©1990, Hazelden Foundation
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Two persons love in one another the future good which they aid one another to unfold.
--Margaret Fuller
We can see the potential for growth in friends we love, a reality that often lies hidden to them. Through our encouragement and our commitment to them, we can help them tackle the barriers to success. Likewise, we'll be helped. It's within the plan, ours and theirs, that we're traveling this road together.
For moments in time, we're matched pairs, drawing from each other the talents the world awaits, while alone we sometimes withdraw, thus depriving the world of what we have to offer. The expression of love will push forward the development of the whole human race.
No one of us is without someone to love if we'd but choose to offer ourselves to another.
You are reading from the book:
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