Each Day a New Beginning

[citychik]

February 4, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

Genius is the talent for seeing things straight. It is seeing things in a straight line without any bend or break or aberration of sight, seeing them as they are, without any warping of vision.

-Maude Adams

We are learning, each day of our abstinence, to see more clearly what lies before us. Less and less are we hampered by our own selfish needs, distorting that which we face. We all have within us the talent for seeing things as they really are. But it is a process that takes practice, a process of turning within to the untapped talent which is one of the gifts of the spiritual life.

We are spiritual entities, one and all. And the genius to see as God sees is ours for the asking. This program is paving our way. Each day it becomes easier to live an honest life. Each day we trust more the people we encounter. And each day we take greater risks being our true selves.

The need to distort that which we see ahead lessens as we begin reaping the benefits of the honest, caring, spirit-filled life. Our unhealthy egos stood in our way in the past. And they can get in the way even now, if we forget to look ahead with the eyes of our inner genius.

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My path today is straight, clean, and love-filled, if I choose to follow my genius.

[citychik]

February 5, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

Don’t comprise yourself. You are all you’ve got.

-Janis Joplin

When we don’t know who we are, it’s easy to comprise ourselves. When we don’t know where we stand on an issue, it’s easy to be swayed by a forceful voice. Values may be cloudy in our minds, or we may not be aware of them at all. It’d then that we are vulnerable to the persuasion of another. In this Twelve Step program, we are offered a way to know ourselves. We are supported in our efforts, and we realize we have friends who don’t want us to compromise ourselves-who value our struggle to know and be true to ourselves.

One of recovery’s greatest gifts is discovering we can make decisions that represent us, our inner selves, and those decisions please us. We all are familiar with the tiny tug of shame that locates itself in our solar plexus. When we “go along,” when we “give in” on a personally important issue, we pay a consequence. We lose a bit of ourselves. Over the years we’ve lost many bits. We have a choice however.

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I will have a chance, soon, to act according to my wishes. I will take it.
__________________

[citychik]

February 6, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

I believe that a sign of maturity is accepting deferred gratification.

-Peggy Cahn


It’s okay to want to feel good all the time. Happiness is something we all deserve. However, there are often preparatory steps we need to take, a number of which will not bring joy, before we arrive at a place of sustained happiness.

The level of our pain at any particular moment has prompted us to seek short- term highs. And with each attempt at a quick “fix,” we will be reminded that, just as with our former attempts, the high is very short term.

Long-term happiness is not the by-product of short-term gratification. We don’t have to earn happiness, exactly, but we do have to discover where it’s found. How fortunate we are to have the program guiding our search. We will find happiness when we learn to get quiet and listen to our inner selves. We will find happiness when we focus less on our personal problems and more on the needs of others.

Many of us will have to redefine what happiness is. Understanding our value and necessity to our circle of acquaintances will bring us happiness, a happiness that will sustain us. Gratitude for our friends, our growing health, and our abstinence also sustain us. Sincerely touching the soul of someone else can tap the well of happiness within each of us.

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I will find happiness. Searching within myself, I will patiently, trustingly share myself with others.

[citychik]

February 7, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

However confused the scene of our life appears, however torn we may be who now do face that scene, it can be faced, and we can go on to be whole.

-Muriel Rukeyser


We can expect to feel fear, even dread at some points in our lives. We will always have situations that, for a time at least, seem more than we can bear. But the clouds will lift. We are never given more than we can handle, and with each passing day we become more at ease with ourselves and all that life gives us. We are learning that “this too shall pass.” Our confidence grows as our spiritual program gains strength.

Our ties to one another and our ties to the program make us whole. When we reflect on who we were and how far we’ve come, we will see that the problems we drank over in days gone by are handled today and often with ease. The joy we share is that no problem is too great to be faced any longer. And no situation will ever have to be faced alone, unless we reject God’s help.

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I will be grateful for my growth towards wholeness and the opportunities I face today. They are bringing me into harmony with the Divine plan for my life.

[citychik]

February 8, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

Reaction isn’t action-that is, it isn’t truly creative.

-Elizabeth Janeway

We must learn how to act rather than react. Unfortunately, we’ve had lots of training at reacting. And we’re all such good imitators. We are a society of reactors. We let the good or the bad behavior of another person determine our own behavior as a matter of course. But the opportunities are unlimited for us to responsibly choose our behavior, independent of all others in our life.

Change is ours, if we want it. A scowl from a spouse need not make us feel rejected. Criticism at work doesn’t have to ruin our day. An inconsiderate bus driver might still be politely thanked. And when we decide for ourselves just how we want to act and follow through, self-esteem soars.

If we are put down, it may momentarily create self-doubt; but when we quickly reassure ourselves that all is well and respond with respect, we grow. A sense of well-being rushes through our bodies.

Being in command of our own feelings and our own actions prevents that free-floating anxiety from grasping us. We are who we choose to be. And new adventures await us.

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The opportunities to react will be many today. But each time I can pause, determine the action I’d feel better about, and take it. My emotional health gets a booster shot each time I make a responsible choice.

[citychik]

February 9, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

We have seen too much defeatism, too much pessimism, too much of a negative approach. The answer is simple; if you want something very badly, you can achieve it. It may take patience, very hard work, a real struggle, and a long time; but it can be done….faith is a prerequisite of any undertaking…..

-Margo Jones

How many dreams have we let die? How many projects did we start, only to leave them unfinished? How many times have we promised ourselves, “This time it will be different,” but then didn’t work to make it so? Negativity breeds more negativity. Fortunately, its opposite does likewise. Our attitude will carry us a long way. And a positive attitude will make all things possible.

We are meant for good living. But we must seek it out and be open to its invitation, be willing to put forth the necessary effort. Our dreams are our invitations to move forward, to strive for a further goal. And having faith in our ability to achieve our dreams will make easier the necessary steps.

We have been blessed with dreams, all of us. They are gifts meant to stretch our capabilities.

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I can trust my dreams and aspirations. They are mine, alone, and special to me. Achievement is possible; faith and a positive attitude will ease my efforts.

[citychik]

February 10, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

God knows no distance.

-Charlezetta Waddles

As close as our breath is the strength we need to carry on thought any troubled time. But our memory often fails us. We try, alone, to solve our problems, to determine the proper course of action. And we stumble. In time we will turn, automatically, to that power available. And whatever our need, it will be met.

Relying on God, however we understand God’s presence, is foreign to many of us. We were encouraged from early childhood to be self-reliant. Even when we desperately needed another help, we feared asking for it. When confidence wavered, as it so often did, we hid the fear-sometimes with alcohol, sometimes with pills. Sometimes we simply hid at home. Our fears never fully abated.

Finding out, as we all have found, that we have never needed to fear anything, that God was never distant, takes time to sink in. Slowly and with practice it will become natural to turn within, to be God-reliant rather than self-reliant.

Whatever our needs today, God is the answer.

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There is nothing to fear. At last, I have come to know God. All roads will be made smooth.

[citychik]

February 11, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

It’s odd that you can get so anesthetized by your own pain or your own problem that you don’t quite fully share the hell of someone close to you.

Lady Bird Johnson

Preoccupation with self can be the bane of our existence. It prevents all but the narrowest perspective on any problem. It cuts off any guidance from our higher power that may be offered through a friend. It blocks whatever truths are trying to gain our attention. The paradox is that whatever our pain, it is lessened by turning our attention elsewhere, to another’s pain or joy.

When we open our minds to fresh input from others, insights emerge. We need the messages others are trying to give us. Nothing that is said in a loving spirit is empty of meaning for our lives.

We might consider that every conversation we have is a conversation with our Creator. What we need to know, for our own growth, is guaranteed in our many conversations with others. But we can’t hear another’s thoughts until we let go of our own.

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Full attention to the persons sent to me will offer me exactly what I need, today. My inner guide has beckoned them. I can be alert, expect solutions, and celebrate the wonder of it all.

[citychik]

February 12, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

I have sacrificed everything in my life that I consider precious in order to advance the political career of my husband.

-Pat Nixon


Putting another person’s needs first is what most of us were trained to do when we were growing up. We were seldom encouraged to embark on an individual course, and even years of taking a back seat taught us that our hopes mattered little.

Now, for some of us, the future looks like a blank wall. It is time to carve out a plan for ourselves, yet how do we decide where we want to go? And how do we get there? The program says, “Live one day at a time.” Our friends say, “Take one step at a time.”

We have chosen to do something about the circumstances we found ourselves in, or we wouldn’t be reading these words. We can stop for a moment and reflect on the many changes thus far. We are already on our way. We have taken a number of necessary steps. What an exciting adventure we have embarked upon. And we will be helped all along the way.

We can trust our inner yearnings, the ones we may have stifled in times past. We can realize our hearts’ pure desires, if we seek guidance.

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My time has come. I can mold my future. I will take each day, each experience, and let it draw me to the next important step.

[citychik]

February 13, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

There are no new truths, but only truths that have not been recognized by those who have perceived them without noticing.

-Mary McCarthy

We understand today ideas we couldn’t understand yesterday. We are conscious this year of details of our past that we may have glossed over at the time. Our blinders are slowly giving way, readying us for the truths we couldn’t absorb before.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” And the teacher comes bearing truths that we need to assimilate into our growing bank of knowledge. The truths we may be given today, or any day, won’t always make us happy immediately. We may learn that a job is no longer right for us. Or that a relationship has reached an end. And the impending changes create unrest. But in the grand scheme of our lives, the changes wrought by these truths are good and will contribute in time to our happiness.

Let’s celebrate the truths as they come and trust the outcomes to God. We are traveling a very special road. The way is rocky. The bends limit our vision, but we will be given all the direction we need.

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The truths I receive today will guide my steps. I shall move in peace.

[citychik]

February 16, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

Sorry I missed a few.

Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.

-Sue Atchley Ebough

Our dreams beckon us to new heights. All that we may need is the courage to move towards them, taking the necessary steps to realize those dreams. Trusting that we will be shown the steps, one at a time, patiently waiting for the right step and the right time is all we need to do today.

Our dreams, when they are for the good of ourselves and others, are invitations from God to spread our wings, to attempt new heights. Those dreams are part of the destiny designed for us. They are not happenstance. Our gifts are unique. Our contributions are ours alone. Our dreams reflect the contributions we are called on to make in this life.

Our opportunities for fulfillment are varied and not always recognized for our good. Again and again we need to turn to God, be patient, and trust that we are being called to offer something very special to those around us. No one of us has escaped a special plan. And everyone of us is inspired in particular ways, with particular talents. Our recovery is clearing the way for us to burst forth with our talents.

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I will be grateful for all that I am, for all that I have. And I will remember, what I give today to friends around me is mine only to give.

[citychik]

February 18, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.


To keep your character in tact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.

-Katherine Hepburn


Behaving the way we believe God wants us to behave sounds so easy on the surface. We don’t willingly hurt others, do we? Or do we?……..When did we last secretly burn with jealousy over another’s good fortune or good looks? Has there been a time, recently, when we sulked for lack of attention…..or perhaps picked a fight?

We can simplify life from this moment forth. There is only one path to walk, one decision to make, in every instance, and all our burdens will be lifted, all our anxiety released. We can decide to act in good faith. We can be silent a moment with ourselves and let our inner guide direct our behavior , our words, our thoughts.

Each of us knows, when we dare to let our spiritual nature reign, the right act in every case. Letting God choose our acts will ease our lives. No more obsessive confusion. No more regrets. No more immobility due to fear of wrong moves.

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Freedom is guaranteed when I depend on God to direct my behavior. Life’s burdens are lifted. I will go forth today, doing God’s will, and my spirit will be light.

[citychik]

February 19, 2008.

University’s a reality and I’m out of my comfort zone. Today, I know these are the periods of growth, and I have the tools necessary to survive.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.

-Agnes DeMille


The day ahead offers us choices of many kinds-some big ones, many that will affect other persons close to us, a few that will have profound effects on our destiny. But no choice, no decision we make, will be wrong. A particular decision may lead us slightly astray. Down a dead-end path perhaps-but we can always turn back and choose again.

We are seldom aware of the gravity of a particular choice at the time of making it. Only hindsight reveals the wisdom of an important choice. Nevertheless, no choice is without importance in the overall picture of our lives. And at the same time, no choice is all-powerful regarding our destiny. We are offered chances again and again for making the right choices, the ones that will most contribute to the bigger plan for our lives.

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I need not worry about today’s opportunities for decision-making. I will listen to those around me. I will seek guidance in the messages coming to me. I will make the choices I need to, today.

[citychik]

February 20, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.


You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

-Eleanor Roosevelt


How can we ever do that which seems impossible? Taking a class, quitting a job, leaving a destructive relationship behind, asking for help; none of these can we do alone or with ease. All of these we can handle when we rely on the help offered by the program, the help of one another, the help promised by our higher power. Tackling with God’s help that which seems impossible, reduces it to manageable size. It also deflates the power our fears have given it.

That which we fear grows in proportion to our obsession with it. The more we fear a thing, the bigger it becomes, which in turn increases our fear. How lucky we are that God awaits our call for strength, the companionship that is guaranteed us! We are in partnership all the way, every day, if only we’d recognize it. We can move toward and through anything. And the added benefit is that we come to trust our partnership. We soon know that all situations can be met. All experience can be survived. Avoidance is no longer our technique for survival.

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A deep breath invites inner strength to move through me. I will feel the exhilaration of God’s power. And I will know the excitement of growth and peace.

[citychik]

February 23, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

Had a lovely day with my granddaughter today. Since she began school this year she’s blossoming like a little flower. She’s trying out “speech” more and more. I love the sound of her voice….sometimes, a little gravelly from lack of use.

I want to dance always, to be good and not evil, and when it is all over not to have the feeling that I might have done better.

-Ruth St. Dennis


Our wants in life may be simple, or they may be complex. They may be confused in our minds, but the clarity will come if we’re patient. God has a way of giving us an “inner tug” when a certain direction beckons. Our responsibility is to follow that tug and trust it, fully. Too often we look back on our lives with regret. What is done, is done. We learned lessons from those mistakes. Every day is a new beginning. And we can close every day with no regrets when we have followed our consciences, that “inner tug” that beckons.

The opportunities will come today. Opportunities to be good or evil. Opportunities for making choices over which we will feel good or full of regret at the day’s close. Many of our choices will bring us closer to the satisfaction, the contentment with life that we all search for as women, as human beings. We need not fear coming to life’s close, wishing we had done more or better. Living each day in good conscience, waiting for the tug and following it, will ensure a life well lived.

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My ego can block out the tug, if I let it. Or I can trust.

[citychik]

February 24, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.

-Virginia Woolf


Anguish is undoubtedly more familiar to us than is the beauty of laughter. We feel anguish over our failings; we feel anguish over our losses; we feel anguish over the attempts to succeed that beckon to us.

Anguish comes of fear. And we so hope to avoid it. However, it seasons us as women; it enriches us even while it momentarily diminishes us. It is a major contributor to the sum and substance of our lives. The anguish we experience prepares us to help others face their own particular anguish.

Our laughter, too, must be savored and shared. And laughter builds more laughter. Laughter lends a perspective to our anguish. Life is made richer, fuller, by the ebb and flow, the laughter and the anguish in concert.

If only we could remember, when the anguish is present, that it is making our spirits whole. That it, along with the laughter, is a healer of the soul. That it lifts our load at the same time that it burdens us. That it prepares us to better receive life’s other gifts.

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I can help another face anguish. It brings us together. It softens me. And it makes way for the laughter soon to come.

[citychik]

February 25, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours.

-Florida Scott-Maxwell


The search is on. Everyone, everywhere, asks the question at some time, “Who am I?” Women like ourselves are fortunate to have this program. It shows us the way to self-discovery. It directs our steps to the celebration of self that is a gift of recovery. The events of our past may plague us. But they did contribute to the fullness we feel today. And for them, for their involvement in who we’ve become, we can be grateful.

Claiming ourselves, the good and the bad, is healing. It’s taking responsibility-for where we were and where we are going. Claiming ourselves makes us active participants in our lives. The choices are many and varied. Not actively participating in life is also a choice. Passivity may have been our dominant choice in years gone by. But now, today, we are choosing recovery. We are choosing action that is healing and wholeness is the result.

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Making myself mine will exhilarate me. It will give me hope. It will prepare me for anything to come. I will know a new joy.

[citychik]

February 26, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy.

-Gretta Brooker Palmer


We have striven for happiness, generally in self-centered ways. We expected others to favor us with their attention, for example. Or we waited for invitations or gifts. We have probably tried to but happiness with the purchase of a new dress or shoes. Fleeting moments of happiness were gained, that’s all. And soon we were discontent once again. And the search was begun anew.

But things have changed for some of us. We’re learning maybe slowly, how to find a more permanent happiness. And we know the happiness that comes from “getting” is elusive. Giving to others, giving attention, sharing hope, sharing our stories, listening to theirs, is the key to finding the happiness for which we’ve searched so long. We must get out side ourselves and focus on another’s joy or sorrow. Only then do we get a clear perspective on who we are and the necessary role we play in the lives of others who need our attention and who have a message we also need to hear.

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The creative power stirring in me needs recognition. Looking deeply into another person, listening intently to the stirring will elicit joy. I will feel in touch with my own creative power, a lasting thrill, not a fleeting moment of happiness.

[citychik]

February 28, 2008.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

The weariest night, the longest day, sooner or later must perforce come to an end.

-Baroness Orczy


The difficult spells in our lives come to an end. And no matter the depth of our disturbance, we will survive. We forget that the depths teach us how better to appreciate the heights.

Sorrow heightens joy. Depression heightens laughter. We wouldn’t know the joys and laughter were it not for the sorrows. In them we learn to be patient, waiting for the wisdom which will light our way. In them we learn to listen for the guidance that beckons us forth.

We must reflect on the troubling experiences we’ve passed through of late. They made us wiser; they gave us strength. They changed us, moving us ever closer to the women, whole and happy, we desire to be.

Difficulties often precede enlightenment. They pull us inward, perhaps push us to search for our connectedness to God, a connectedness that is at home in our hearts. The paradox is that these painful periods strengthen our oneness with the Spirit.

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If the day looks bleak, I will accept it as a hand reaching toward me, to pull me forward, to secure my place in the spiritual family.

[citychik]

February 29, 2008.

16 months of sobriety today….hmmm…seems longer.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.

……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 part 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 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.

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The patterns I 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 I will see that whatever the progress, it was the perfect fit for the overall design.