A Daily Spiritual Look At Life

[MajestyJo]

The Man In The Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in you life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you're a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please-never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear to the end.
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Peter "Dale" Winbrow Sr

[MajestyJo]

There is so much familiarity to pain that we don't want to let it go. I need to remember that I am not alone, that anything that happens in the future, God is with me, if I choose to take Him along.

When I project into the future all I have is the past to base my decisions on. It can keep me immobized in today, fearful of taking that first step in a new direction.

I can not grow in my recovery, if I stay the same. I have never been satisfied with just being "clean" without the gift of sobriety and the other rewards of being open to receive that the fellowships offer me.

It would be pretty boring if I got up in front of a room and shared the same story, over and over again, with no deviation showing some growth and change in my life. I wouldn't be carry a very good message of recovery if I just stayed the same. I would be acting out my disease without picking up, after all the substance is but a symptom, I am the problem, the program is the solution.

Each day is a new beginning.

A day can start anytime.

A meeting starts when you get there, and ends when you leave.

Yesterday ended last night.

[MajestyJo]

What are you thinking?

"I never know what I think about something until I read what I've written on it."

-- William Faulkner

What have you been thinking lately?

Do you know? We get so accustomed to our thoughts that we lose awareness of them. We don’t see how they are stuck in old habitual patterns, most of which don’t serve us.

Take time to journal so you can capture your thoughts on paper. By doing so, you will begin to take control of your mind and use it to best advantage.

"When you choose to understand [and] exercise control over the functions and attributes of your own mind, you will be empowered to create your own reality, to be completely self-reliant and totally prosperous."

-- The Delfin Knowledge System

This is interesting for me because I tend to get caught up in my own mind and that is why it is good to come here and post, pick up the phone and call my sponsor or a friend, or just do a meditation to quiet my mind and put some order to what is going on. When I hear, speak, or read what I think, it often makes more sense and it can be very enlightening.

I remember calling my sponsor one day and nattering off to her, I paused, and then laughed and said, "Oh, I'm on a pity party aren't I?" Until then I hadn't been aware, but by picking up the phone and talking to her, I could see where I was at, accept it, and then move on and change it.

Something I posted on another site in 2008

Seeing as I have had the thought pity party and pity pot, perhaps I need to address some issues concerning this. I think I am just accepting that I am sitting on the pot, that means I have to take action to change my attitude.

[MajestyJo]

We are all serving a life sentence in the dungeon of self.
-Cyril Connoly

Some say the whole purpose of our sojourn here is to escape from self. It is gloomy and frightening in that private inner dungeon. Many of us have tried to escape, hoping that when we came to our senses we would no longer be a prisoner. Thankfully, our addictions brought us to our knees in defeat -and we had to acknowledge a power greater than ourselves. It was the only way some of us might have ever known God.

Those of us who feel a Guiding Hand in our life know that we escape ourselves by getting involved with others. The bars of self crumble as we become honest and share our fears and weaknesses, hopes and strengths with each other.

Today I will look for opportunities to share my inner self.

Originally posted on another site in 2004.

Like this, don't remember reading it before. So glad that old news, is still good news in today.

Love Garfield, for me he is the perfect mirror of an addict in full blown addiction.

[MajestyJo]

If you are planning your own way, trying to make things happen in the strength of your own flesh, then you are frustrated. You probably have said, "No matter what I do, nothing seems to work!"

Relax. Let God be God.

Stop being so hard on yourself.

Change is a process, it comes little by little.

You are on your way, Enjoy the trip!


- Source unknown to me

[MajestyJo]

[MajestyJo]

[MajestyJo]

This is

This is a day that is like no other. This is a moment in which you can make great things happen.

This is a world full of challenge and opportunity. This is a life that's overflowing with possibilities.

This is your chance to make a real, positive difference. This is the time that is yours to fully live.

This is reality, and it is filled with promise. This is when you can begin to make your most treasured dreams real.

This is the place where your choices have brought you. This is your first step toward the best you can imagine.

This moment, this world, this life that you're in can be whatever you decide to make of it. This is your reminder to make it great.

-- Ralph Marston

Thought this was a good reminder at this time of the year. It reminds me that I didn't get to where I am in today on my own and that although I have made some bad choices along the way, I am right where I am suppose to be in this moment; and if I don't like where I am at, I can make another choice.

Each day is a new beginning. I am given freedom of choice.

[MajestyJo]

Advice to Live By

If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep.
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends....B1.
The 10 commandments are not multiple choice.
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
Minds are like parachutes.. .they function only when open.
Ideas won't work unless YOU do.
One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.
One who lacks the courage to start has already finished.
The heaviest thing to carry is a grudge.
Don't learn safety rules by accident.
We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.
Jumping to conclusions can be bad exercise.
A turtle makes progress when it sticks its head out.
One thing you can give and still keep...is your word.
A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.
AND FINALLY...
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!!!

[MajestyJo]

Each morning when I wake up, I turn my day over to the God of my understanding. My understanding in today is that God is all things. When I try to identify God, I limit Him/Her/It as to how my God can work in my life.

I will be referring to my God as He quite often, only because it is easier to type one word than three. For me, God is three-fold, body, mind and spirit, which makes up me. The Bible says I was made in His image, so He must have a little bit of me in Him. Now that is a scary thought, yet I know he identifies with me, has a sense of humour, is very patient, tolerant, understanding, forgiving, and all those traits which he is try to teach me in today. Whatever the trait, the habit, the ideal, the goal, etc. God and I are working on it just for today.

All I have to deal with is this days thoughts, actions, events, etc. When I stay in today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow hasn't got here yet, and I can live the day to it's fullest.

When I turn each day over to my God, I know things unfold as they should, not as I would always like them. As much as I don't always like it, I am exactly where I am suppose to be.

If I make wrong choices, He brings me back to where I need to be. If I haven't learned a lesson, he keeping putting it in front of me until such a time as I learn what it is I need to know.

I am reminded that it is my knowing for my life, not that of the loved ones in my life.

Something I shared on another site in 2011. It is hard to believe it is 5 years ago.

The last line reminds me of what I use to say to others prior to recovery, "If you are going to pray for me, pray quietly so I can't hear you. The more you say don't, I do!" They say that recovery is a change of attitude sufficient to aid recovery. Mine had to go and I had to go on a spiritual quest to find out who my God was to me.

[MajestyJo]

[MajestyJo]

[MajestyJo]

What is spirituality? What do I need to feed my soul and kindle my spirit?

For me it is about being whole and connected to the God of my understanding. Food for the soul can be anything from a daily reading, to a smile or a kind word from a stranger, a hug, a sunny day such as I am seeing out my window with sailboats gliding over Hamilton Bay (you can't see the polution, all you can see is the pretty picture), word from a friend I haven't heard from in a long time or just a phone call from a loved one. Picking up the phone because someone comes to mind. Giving a smile or a hug to someone who crosses your path. The other morning, while waiting for the bus to go to the meeting, I was sitting on my walker, and a gentleman who I didn't know, walked by me and said hello. Didn't break stride, just kept walking but acknowledged me as a person.

For me it is also getting out my candles and meditating, using my crystals and using them for meditatin and prayer and asking for the healing and comfort I need in the moment. Giving what was so freely given to me back to others. It doesn't always come from the same source, and it doesn't always go back from where it was received. Yet when I acknowledge it, open up to receive it, accept it, gives thanks for it, it is mine to pass on to someone else.

Originally posted on my site Freedom of Angel

.. there is no cure except to keep so close to the thought of God that nothing, no other interest, can seriously come between you and God. Sure of that, you can stay on God's side.

24 Hours A Day

What an empowering thought. My spiritual advisor use to say that anything that came between me and who my God would have me be, becomes the god of my life. I need to stay close to Him and not let the outside things take over my obsessive, compulsive mind.

This is a one day at a time program. It is a program of practice, practicing the spiritual principles of the program. I can't, my God can....

[MajestyJo]

Five Ways You Can Face Obstacles and Turn Them Into Blessings

1) Never dwell on the cause of the obstacle. Rise above it and change the way you respond to it. It only has as much power as you're willing to give it.

2) Check your attitude. Know that you have the ability to control the outcome, and/or to choose the answer that's right for you.

3) Think of an alternative. If one answer doesn't work, or if it doesn't feel right, try another way to get to the best solution.

4) Realize that your view of the obstacle is what may determine how much impact it has on your life.

5) Think about what you were doing just before the obstacle happened. Don't make excuses to yourself. Turn the obstacle into a positive motivator. Then find a way to move toward your goal.

--unknown

[MajestyJo]

Today's thought is:

Love has a hundred gentle ends.

--Leonora Speyer


Letting go is a process that is seldom easy. For many, its meaning is elusive. How do we "let go"? Letting go means removing our attention from a particular experience or person and putting our focus on the here and now. We hang on to the past, to past hurts, but also to past joys. We have to let the past pass. The struggle to hang on to it, any part of it, clouds the present. You can't see the possibilities today is offering if your mind is still drawn to what was.

Letting go and be a gentle process. Our trust in our higher power and our faith that good will prevail, in spite of appearances, eases the process. And we must let each experience end, as its moment passes, whether it is good or bad, love or sorrow. It helps to remember that all experiences contribute to our growth and wholeness. No experience will be ignored by the inner self who is charting our course. All are parts of the journey. And every moment has a gentle end, but no moment is forgotten.

My journey today is akin to yesterday's journey and tomorrow's too. I will savor each moment and be ready for the next.

Timeless Wisdom by Karen Casey

Always a good lesson. How it works! Living in today. The key word to the slogan "Live and let live," is the first word. Living our own life and letting everything else fall by the way side. Without me, I have nothing. I can't give to others if I don't remember to top myself up. Without you, there is no me. In order to maintain my sobriety, I must share it with others.
Soundness of mind is hard to achieve if we don't learn to let go and let our God direct our path.