For Today: November 21st

There is no more mistaken path to happiness than worldliness, revelry, high life.

Arthur Schopenhauer

Many people spend their lives yearning for the “good life” they imagine is being lived by those who are written about in the gossip magazines.

Contrary to popular opinion, worldliness, revelry and high life are the enemies of happiness because each of them represents excess—too much of a good thing.  Certainly, it is a good thing to celebrate joyous occasions, to mark the passage of time with festivities; but these events are valued precisely because they are indulged in with moderation.  A party every day would mean the total extinction of happiness.

For today:  Good and bad times come and go, but the only real and lasting happiness is feeling good about myself.  The first requirement for this condition is abstinence.

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I used to live with excess everything, thinking it was fun; thinking I deserved to have what I wanted, when I wanted it.  Until, of course, all that excess turned against me and made my life miserable instead of fun.

But then I was stuck with bad habits, having no idea how to get out of the hellish situation I'd gotten myself into.

When I found abstinence, I knew I wanted to hang onto it for dear life.  This is living! This is moderation, which I've never known before.  OA provides me a way to live, joyous and free, without the burden of addiction weighing me down mentally, physically and spiritually.

Abstinence equals structure & structure prevents chaos.  When I was living with excess, I was living in chaos.  OA brought peace & clarity into my life once I became willing to accept structure in my life.

For today, I will not behave excessively in any area of my life.  For today, I will stick to the notion that less is more and simple is better.  For today, I will not question my decision, and I will leave everything in God's hands.