The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
The ODAT reading for today, August 6 speaks about staying in the moment and appreciating treasures that can be found in the moment and the day.
It suggests that if we are intent on building our lives iin a positive fashion we need to focus on living just for the day,and in the moment.IN this manner we should put aside all critical thoughts about the world and notice the interesting things in each moment such as the expression on people's faces, a plant growing, a smile, a small child. These are wonders that are all around us and if we open our eyes and mind we will see and enjoy each one.
The reading also points out that we cannot be preoccupied with thoughts of grievances and the troubles from yesterday. We can make a determination that today we can begin a new way of using every minute of every day and make this day one we can look back on with pleasure and satisfaction.
The quote is "today is all the time I have-- nobody can keep me from using it well. If I make this day good then tomorrow can be even better."
One day at a time life can be a joy
After reading this daily page I was reminded of the :"Just for Today bookmark. This was the first piece of literature that I absorbed and read continually for the first two years. It also suggested that we live in the moment and in the day. , I am so grateful for this tool because even today as I walk around during my chores. I do notice the flowers, birds, squirrels and appreciate each momentthat i am alive.
Living one moment, one second, at a time is a challenge but so worthwhile. Usung my Al-Anon tools such as the slogans and the serenity prayer, I am able to stay detached enough to enjoy each day to the fullest
Betty I read that page this morning also sitting among and with my orchids and with the lovely raucous birds at the feeders and the ocean and seascapes down the road and I smile at HP's art work for to me this is what it is and HP does this art work for all of his creation that includes us. Special I will go to bed tonight with those thoughts and pictures still in my spirit. Thanks for your share always. (((hugs)))
Oh yea, the mindfulness I am practicing..even in grief and trust me, I am grieving..in mourning, but i can get into the moment and actually see good things and joyful things..I am still practicing tennis, playing basketball, went back to work Friday and boy did I binge on the chocolate candies...well??? i did it because that is IT for me...My cholesterol went up some and chocolate, sugars,is bad for it....i don't need meds, but I do need to clean up my diet....anyway, today is all I have...and even sick with the ptsd/gad chemical imbalances they cause, I still, after resting, hit a few balls and I just kinda noticed stuff around me,...birds....flowers....the puppies playing in the yard and just being in the now....posting memories about Jane on facebook where all our friends are absolutely loving my stories about her and me......i limit how much "world news" i want to hear...yea, I want to be aware, not in the dark, but I don't dwell on it...if i can do something?? fine...if not??? turn it over...disconnect......give it to karma....nothing i can do.....I want my today's to be good and only I can do that by focusing on the moment...(I notice it is harder to do when one is grieving, but I am still managing some AND being gentle with me) anyway, I needed to see this post, a reminder that the moment can be sweet if I open my mind up to it....Thanks, Betty.....Nice share!!!!!
Good morning Betty and thank you for today's reading- it's just what I needed to hear. I'm sipping my cup of coffee, happy for my small abundances, and planning how I will mindfully spend my day.
Good morning all, and thanks for the share Betty.
I definitely needed to hear this topic today. Weekends can be so hard. But if I leave yesterday where it is and start fresh with today, I know I can have a good day.
Sipping coffee here as well and considering which pickel recipe to try with the bag of picking cucumbers I picked up yesterday. (You pick day at my csa farm!)
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Skorpi
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. - Lao Tzu
Good morning all - thank you for the daily and your service Betty. Thank you all for your ESH. I know that when I work this program as best I can, and lean into all that is suggested, my life goes much better. Just for today and being present were early concepts that were foreign and difficult as I have always been a planner and rarely living in the now.
We have all kinds of disease circling around right now and it's easy to be distracted and sad by the events. It is the "Just for Today' bookmark that helps me stay present, work hard to trust HP and let go of the results. I too am drinking coffee, enjoying the cooler weather and getting ready to drive over and check out the rental property - we got another 6-7 inches of rain yesterday/last night.
I'm grateful that Al-Anon gives me tools to redirect my own person to the present moment and to let go of the past and stop projecting about the future. Headed to a morning meeting after a while and hopeful for softball later today - however....this assumes the fields are above water!
Make it a great day MIP family!! (((Hugs)))
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
Thanks Betty for today's reading and your share especially the reminder about using our Just for Today bookmark, one of my favorite program tools. The reading reminds me I'm not powerless over my attitude. When I view the world with eyes of gratitude, I gain more serenity. TT
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Surround yourself with people and elements that support your destiny, not just your history.
Thank you for your service, Betty, I'm grateful for the reminder to stay present. Had a really rough time with it yesterday, but thankfully eventually got through my paralysis with the help of the program tools. Its so easy to slip back into unhealthy thinking of fear of the future and regret of the past, I'm so grateful I now know I can choose to stop doing that and that it doesn't take me as long to get back to the present.
Thank you so much for today's message, Betty. For me, this is the heart of the program. Taking in the beauty around us, big or small means we are present and grateful. I shudder to think of all the thousands of moments I missed because I was too wrapped up in my own head or someone else's business! No matter what is happening in my life, I am now in the habit of (forcing myself if I have to) finding something good or grateful for and I thank HP for it! It's a miracle I can even do that!
Thank you Betty for teaching me so much good Alanon stuff! Yesterday morning I spilled an entire cup of boiling hot coffee on my hand, with coffee grounds on my clothes, floor, oven, and dishwasher. I was in so much pain, and there was such a mess, I didn't know what to do first. And it all sort of came to me-hand in cold water, Wisk on clothes so they don't stain, clean up floor so dogs can't eat it, etc. And in those moments I felt gratitude: the hot coffee could have splashed into my eyes, and one of my little dogs was at me feet, and neither of those things happened. I got good care at an emergency walk-in place (have 2nd degree burns), and my A was the best partner you could ever want helping me. In the midst of an actual crisis, I was grateful for so many things, even my A. That's Alanon at work! Lyne
Lovely share Lyne I am sorry that you encountered such an accident but pleased that you handled it with such poise , courage and confidence. It is wonderful that your partner was a great support as well.
WOW Lyne what a gratitude share from blessings out of a bad event. And you get to keep the memory of it later to share with someone else again. WOW!! (((hugs)))
(((Lyne))) - so very sorry for your mishap....thank you for your glorious share - way too cool that after shock, gratitude and 'next right thing' popped forward. Healing thoughts and prayers coming your way!!!
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
I needed to know that my recovery would last... does it hold true anywhere and everywhere...? Currently in an Asian country- by first time in the East... there is really no culture here for recovery... just a handful of British e-pats came to a meeting.
I was the only one at a meeting. Then a newcomer arrived- her second meeting. She was grateful to see someone there. She asked me if I could run a meeting. I said yep-easy- if I was needed. The chair emerged 10 minutes late.
I still get really antsy when a meeting is full of list and readings- and very little content. I can see the reason for this- and the deep need for some constancy and pattern to our lives. But if there is a deep internal silence- I believe anyway- it simply replicates the family situation.
There is a tension here... and for me this is a healthy one. The tension between form and content.
Here, on the MIP Alanon board we have members from all sorts of groups. Some growing and burgeoning, and some struggling. What I sense about the group conscience here- it there is a bit of tweaking and nudging- off issues, and of policy... tentative... but to see what is possible.... Some things seem to be unspoken... ....I sense people feel they are in a safe space.
Getting back to my meeting. This was a beginners meeting- the only one I could get along to. The chair felt that maybe I did not need a beginners meeting... well no- but beginners do need other members around!
Being there confirmed to me that i was still grounded. I HAD learned to think on my feet.
One of the many topics the chair presented was about anonymity. This is a vital ingredient of our meetings. I said that we are anonymous, but we do not need to be invisible. I read over my posting here... a written share helps me to reflect.
Was I able to strike a balance... of sharing and of respect for the individual???
