A Prayer & Some Thoughts - April

[bluidkiti]

April 11


Prayer for Empathy

Lord,
You understood the needs of those impoverished in mind,
body, or spirit, and never shamed or shunned them.
May we come to recognize our own vulnerability
and our longing to be healed.
As we encounter our own pain,
let it deepen in us a capacity to feel for others.
Enlarge our souls, expand our minds,
and soften our hearts towards all who suffer.
Amen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Thought

We finally came to the bottom.

We did not have to be financially broke, although many of us were. But we were spiritually bankrupt. We had a soul-sickness, a revulsion against ourselves and against our way of living. Life had become impossible for us. We had to end it all or do something about it.

So ............

Am I glad I did something about it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Contemplation


Taking Care of Ourselves

We cannot simultaneously set a boundary and take care of another person's feelings. It's impossible; the two acts contradict. What a tremendous asset to have compassion for others! How difficult that same quality can make it to set boundaries!

Some of us live with a deeply ingrained message from our family, or from church, about never hurting other people's feelings. We can replace that message with a new one; one that says it's not okay to hurt ourselves. Sometimes, when we take care of ourselves, others will react with hurt feelings.

That's okay. We will learn, grow, and benefit by the experience; they will too. The most powerful and positive impact we can have on other people is accomplished by taking responsibility for ourselves, and allows others to be responsible for themselves.

It's good to care about other people and their feelings; it's essential to care about ourselves too. Sometimes, to take good care of ourselves, we need to make a choice. Caring works. Caretaking doesn't. We can learn to walk the line between the two.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Living In The Now

First, we try living in the now just in order to stay sober -- and it works. Once the idea has become a part of our thinking, we find that living life in 24 hour segments is an effective and satisfying way to handle many other matters as well.

Living Sober Page 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Quote

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." ~ James Baldwin