For Today: March 5th

For Today: March 5^th

^{Nothing contributes more to peace of soul than having no opinion at all.
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg}

^{An oldtimer spoke on opinions at a meeting and this is what she said: “I had a great many opinions: ‘advocates of positive thinking are stupid: there’s nothing in this world that justifies optimism or cheerfulness; there is definitely no God.’ I held onto these opinions, stoutly defending them as my disease progressed. In the end, there seemed to be nothing good anywhere, no satisfaction in anything except food.}

^{“That was the bottom I had to hit before finding OA. I was one of those hard-nosed ones who got zapped right away with a spiritual awakening. As a result, I quit the debating society and put aside my opinions. I can’t describe to you the peace of mind I’ve had since then.”}

^{For Today: A peaceful soul is more important than having opinions.}

^{What led me to believe MY opinion was the gospel truth, I wonder?  I guess it was part of my need to ‘run the world’ and control everyone in my life. It was the ‘my way or the highway’ attitude that led me *in part* to find such comfort in excess food. I was setting myself up to feel Entitled to eat! If I dwelled in misery, shouldn’t I eat a big bowl of ice cream to ‘feel better’?  It took me a long time to decide I was NOT going to live in misery…I decided to live in happiness & gratitude instead. No matter how badly my life may be going at any given time, I can find SOMETHING to be grateful for!}

^{If I can find nothing to feel grateful for, then something is wrong with my Program. It’s then that I need to work the Steps, especially Step 4, and take an honest inventory of myself & my actions.}

^{If I find myself expressing too many opinions, I have to ask myself what I’m looking for? Acceptance from others?  Other people’s opinion of me is none of MY business.} 

^{My opinions are not what’s important in my life. My Program is what’s important; my family, my job, my friends, my relationships. I can let go of an argument nowadays without having to ‘win’ it. I am not in a contest to be Right all the time. In fact, one of the best things I can say these days is this:}

^{I don’t know.}

^{What a RELIEF it is not to have to run the world, or be right all the time, or win arguments, or have more knowledge than the next guy on any given subject.} 

^{For today, I pray that I may be grateful for God’s spirit in me. I pray that I may try to live in accordance with IT, instead of with MY opinions.}

^{For today, I pray to align my opinions with the principles of OA for this is where the truth really lies.}