Sunshine On My (and John Denver’s) Shoulders #140

Want it all and want it now, says something nagging in the unconscious.  No patience, no serenity, no peace, only impossible demands and grand plans.  But the only way to make sobriety work, to keep from needing the medicine, is to stay in the day and concentrate on the goods of now.  So, today I am thankful for:

1. Hot Sunshine this morning!

2. Good and frequent communication with my friends and the AA community!

3. The morning coffee and Rice Krispies (they never disappoint).

4. The weekend – I have to work today, but it is always a little more relaxed and pleasant.

5. That I can read, and even more that I am now reading GOOD things instead of the trash that I used to.

6. My clothes.

7. My snappy little apartment.

It is these little things, rather than superpowers, great gestures, grand vistas, that make life sing.  These are the little charms of life and will make it all worth while today.

Peace to all!

Again, Alive #139

For too long I have simply wanted to die.  Recovery has given me a new lease on life, a new way of looking at things, a new view of myself as being able to meet today’s challenges and to enjoy the beauty of this moment.  So, I am grateful today for:

1. My gifts and abilities, especially the ability to laugh.

2. Because I didn’t drink yesterday and stayed well  I can add another day to the “sober” column!

3. I don’t have to do anything spectacular today, like leap over tall buildings in a single bound, but can simply live who I am doing what I can do to make life better for those around me.

4. Last night’s dinner was great, as was this morning’s breakfast.

5. I made a serious amends a couple of days ago, after putting it off for far too long.  The result was sadness for the time I lost  in friend, but I am at least feeling more relief at doing the right thing.

6. After years of putting it off I have begun to take up creative pursuits like drawing and painting.

7. Work has never been better, THANK GOD.

Keeping my feet in the day, doing what is right, focusing not on the phantoms of the future but the little joys of now really help to keep me sober.

Crisis or Not, Serenity #138

It’s easier said than done, but can’t we live simply and still be happy?  I don’t think money is evil, as St. Francis of Assisi and some of the other very great and holy saints of history did.  But I like to think that I am learning to live my life in such a way, in short, living soberly, so that my happiness does not depend on anything outside of me.  Fortunately, we also learn this from many other quarters like the following:

THE FIR-TREE AND THE BRAMBLE

A Fir-tree was boasting to a Bramble, and said, somewhat contemptuously, “You poor creature, you are of no use whatever. Now, look at me: I am useful for all sorts of things, particularly when men build houses; they can’t do without me then.” But the Bramble replied, “Ah, that’s all very well: but you wait till they come with axes and saws to cut you down, and then you’ll wish you were a Bramble and not a Fir.”

Better poverty without a care than wealth with its many obligations.”

From Aesop’s Fables:  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm

Enjoy the day everyone!