Recovery
Meditations: January 21st
~ POSITIVE
THINKING ~
Positive
thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.
Zig Ziglar
I came into Twelve Step meetings after
descending into a well of negative thinking. It was a vicious cycle, one I
wasn't even aware of for the longest time. My negative thinking fostered many
resentments, hurts and binges. Once I became aware of this and started to work
on changing my destructive thinking, I discovered that letting in just one
negative thought opened the door to more negative thinking.
Then one day in a meeting I heard a
longtimer say that negative thinking attracted negative (thinking and actions)
and positive thinking attracted positive (thinking and actions). That made
sense with what I was experiencing. As I walked out of that meeting, I
determined that I would do everything I could to keep all my thoughts positive
in order to attract more positives to my life.
It worked! The more positive I could
keep my thoughts, the better I felt about everything, and the more good things
happened to me. My general attitude soared. When a bad thing happened (and they
do happen) I found good things about it and focused on the good. Many many
times I discovered that the "bad" thing had actually been a new good
direction in disguise.
Positive attracts positive. Negative
attracts negative. I'd rather attract positive.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will remember to turn to the program
to help maintain my peace and serenity, especially through the bad times.
~ Rhonda ~
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Each Day a New Beginning
Too many
activities, and people, and things. Too many worthy activities, valuable
things, and interesting people. For it is not merely the trivial which
clutters our lives but the important as well.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh
We need interaction with others, and we need activities. We have many gifts to offer those who cross our paths, and we need the many gifts they have to offer us. But we soon have little to share, to give to others, if we neglect the special times, the empty spaces needed for nurturing the soul.
Some time away from people, activities, and things, some time away to commune with God, to seek guidance, to seek security in the fullest sense, will prepare us to better give our gifts to others. That time alone will also ready us to accept others' gifts to us.
It is true we find God's message in others. But the time alone with God lowers the barriers that too often prevent us from hearing another of God's messages as expressed through the friends and even foes who cross our paths.
My gift to myself is some time alone. I deserve that gift today and every day.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh
We need interaction with others, and we need activities. We have many gifts to offer those who cross our paths, and we need the many gifts they have to offer us. But we soon have little to share, to give to others, if we neglect the special times, the empty spaces needed for nurturing the soul.
Some time away from people, activities, and things, some time away to commune with God, to seek guidance, to seek security in the fullest sense, will prepare us to better give our gifts to others. That time alone will also ready us to accept others' gifts to us.
It is true we find God's message in others. But the time alone with God lowers the barriers that too often prevent us from hearing another of God's messages as expressed through the friends and even foes who cross our paths.
My gift to myself is some time alone. I deserve that gift today and every day.
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
Service
We compulsive overeaters have often spent our lifetimes being most concerned with getting, taking in, and consuming. Nourishing ourselves is necessary, but it is also necessary that we give. To stay alive, one must breathe out as well as in.
As we recover, we become stronger each day and better able to serve others. When we stop eating compulsively, we are amazed at the amount of time and energy we have available for useful activities. For one thing, we feel much better physically, since we are eating the amount and type of food, which our bodies need for optimum functioning. For another, we become stronger emotionally and spiritually as we work the Twelve Steps.
Each day, we can be open to opportunities to serve our OA groups, families, and friends. As we give out more and take in less, we gain new satisfaction and self-respect.
Show me where I may serve, Lord.
We compulsive overeaters have often spent our lifetimes being most concerned with getting, taking in, and consuming. Nourishing ourselves is necessary, but it is also necessary that we give. To stay alive, one must breathe out as well as in.
As we recover, we become stronger each day and better able to serve others. When we stop eating compulsively, we are amazed at the amount of time and energy we have available for useful activities. For one thing, we feel much better physically, since we are eating the amount and type of food, which our bodies need for optimum functioning. For another, we become stronger emotionally and spiritually as we work the Twelve Steps.
Each day, we can be open to opportunities to serve our OA groups, families, and friends. As we give out more and take in less, we gain new satisfaction and self-respect.
Show me where I may serve, Lord.
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
Wants and Needs
Part of taking responsibility for us means taking responsibility for what we want and need, and knowing that's okay to do.
Learning to tune in to us, learning to listen to ourselves, is an art. It takes practice. We can use our ability to guess what others want and need and apply that skill to ourselves.
What does it sound like we might want and need? What would we guess would help us feel better? What are our feelings telling us? Our body? Our mind? Our intuition?
If we ask, then listen closely; we'll hear the answer.
We are wiser than we think, and we can be trusted.
What we want and need counts. It's important, and it's valid. It's okay to learn to participate in meeting our own needs.
We can learn to identify what we want and need and be patient with ourselves while we're learning.
Today, I will pay attention to what I want and need. I will not discount myself.
Part of taking responsibility for us means taking responsibility for what we want and need, and knowing that's okay to do.
Learning to tune in to us, learning to listen to ourselves, is an art. It takes practice. We can use our ability to guess what others want and need and apply that skill to ourselves.
What does it sound like we might want and need? What would we guess would help us feel better? What are our feelings telling us? Our body? Our mind? Our intuition?
If we ask, then listen closely; we'll hear the answer.
We are wiser than we think, and we can be trusted.
What we want and need counts. It's important, and it's valid. It's okay to learn to participate in meeting our own needs.
We can learn to identify what we want and need and be patient with ourselves while we're learning.
Today, I will pay attention to what I want and need. I will not discount myself.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
©1990, Hazelden Foundation
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Make yourself at home.
It was night, only a few months after I'd begun my skydiving adventure. It was too cold to stay in my tent; I had rented a cabin near the drop zone. Now I'd come back to hang out for a while, before retiring for the night.
One of the skydivers I'd met recently was sitting in a lawn chair, under the tarped area between the rows of trailers that had been turned into team rooms and student training areas. The evening lights had been turned on. He was wrapped up in a sleeping bag, reading a book under the hazy glow. He was one of the full-time skydivers, who had been attracted to the gypsy lifestyle of the skydiving community as much as the sport itself.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm in my living room, reading a book," he replied. "Do you like the view of the backyard?" he asked, making a gesture toward the rolling hills that cascaded gently in the background. "That's my patio," he said, pointing to a small area just around the corner. "The morning sun hits there. It's a warm place to sit and eat breakfast. Sometimes I sleep in that tent," he said, pointing off to the side." And sometimes I take my sleeping bag and curl up under the stars in the landing area, over there."
I looked around, almost envious of his freedom.
Sometimes, we get so busy and involved creating a "home" for ourselves that we create a structure that's too safe, limiting, and confined. We forget about our real home, the planet earth. It's good to sleep indoors. It's nice to make ourselves comfortable in our home. But don't let your cozy nest become a locked, confining box.
Stretch your arms, Push the lid off the box. Get out into the world. Walk around. Move about. See the hills, the lakes, the forests, the mountains peaks, the valleys, the rivers.
See how big your world can be. See how connected everything is. See how connected you are, too – to all that is. Make yourself comfortable, wherever you are. Make yourself a home and be at home in the world.
God, help me relax and make myself at home in your bountiful world.
You are reading from the book:
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