The evolution of human growth is an evolution from an absolute need to be loved towards a full readiness to give love.
--Dr. Karl Stern

As children, we looked to our parents for love, for clothes and food, for an
indication of who we were. If our needs were met, we felt secure. As developing
adults, we still seek love. We continue yearning for security and all too often
our self-definition comes through someone else. But a healthy sign of our growth is revealed each time we extend love to another with no thought that love is owed us in return.

We can show our love in myriad ways - a genuine smile, a note of appreciation, an unexpected favor, perhaps
flowers, or a phone call. Warmly giving another attention in any form is an act of love, one that will be repaid in full by someone, at some time.

The ease with which we genuinely love others is directly proportional to our commitment to loving as a priority in our lives. To love is a decision first, an action second, a value next.

You are reading from the book:
Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

You can make more friends in two months by  becoming interested in other people than
you can in two years of trying to get  other people interested in you.
--Dale Carnegie

We wanted friends, but our addiction wanted all our attention. We had no time to be close to others.

Well, stand aside addiction! The program has  taught us that others are important. Our purpose is to help others. People have  become what's important tous.

Now we listen to others. We help them do what  they want to do, not what we want them to do. We help people instead of use  them. Friendship is now a way of life. And another promise of the program  becomes a part of us.

Prayer for the  Day

Higher Power, help me to know that I'm here to  help others, not just myself. Through others, I find myself.

Today's Action

Today  I'll help someone in the way he or she wants to be helped.
 

You are reading from the book:
Keep It Simple by Anonymous

Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it.
--Kathleen Casey Theisen

Recovery offers us courage to make choices about the events of our lives. Passive compliance with whatever is
occurring need no longer dominate our pattern of behavior. Powerlessly watching our lives go by was common for many of us, and our feelings of powerlessness escalated the more idle we were.

Today, action is called for -- thoughtful action in response to the situations begging for our attention. Recovery's greatest gift is the courage to take action, to make decisions that will benefit us as well as the people who are close to us. Courage is the byproduct of our spiritual progress, courage to accept what we cannot change,
believing that all will be well, courage to change in ourselves what we do have control over.

An exhilaration about life accompanies the taking of action. The spell that idleness casts over us is broken, and subsequent actions are even easier to take. Clearly, making a choice and acting on it is healthful. The program has given us the tools to do both.

Decisions will be called for today. I will be patient with myself, and thoughtful. I will listen closely to the guidance that comes from those around me.
 
You are reading from the book:
Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

Children do not know how their parents love them, and they never will till the grave closes over those parents, or till they have children of their own.
--Edmund Vance Cooks

As adults, we may feel we were cheated out of a "normal" childhood because of our parents' emotional, physical,
or spiritual failings. We may think they should never be forgiven for their actions or inactions when we were young.

Yet imagine what our lives would be like today if we did not forgive. We would be bitter, stomping angrily through life with a clipboard in hand, ready to write down the name of the next person who crosses us. It's time to throw away the clipboard and the names on it - including the names of our parents.

The program teaches us to love those who come into our lives, even if we don't like them. It teaches us forgiveness through our Higher Power. We do not have to like our parents, but we can love them. By the same token, we need to realize our parents love us in their special way. They aren't perfect - and neither are we.

Help me remember my parents did the best they could with what they had. That's all anyone can really do.
 
You are reading from the book:
Night Light by Amy E. Dean

I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved . . . the realm of silence is large enough
beyond the grave.
--George Eliot

We've all heard many times that we must love ourselves if we're ever to love another. Too often we mistakenly
think that means we shouldn't need to hear someone's affirmation of love. That assumption is wrong. Praise from others builds our self-confidence, keeps us on track, aware of how we're presenting ourselves moment by moment.

But many of us didn't develop healthy egos in our youth because we didn't get feedback that affirmed us. We didn't hear we were loved. As adults, we're scrambling to feel confident, to feel sure of our direction and our value to society. And we're hoping to hear we're loved. We can be certain someone close will be helped
by hearing our words of love.

There's no time like the present for sharing love.
You are reading from the book:
Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

When Albert Schweitzer said, "The only ones of you who will be truly happy are those who have found and learned how to serve," he was stating an ancient truth - that the meaning of life lies in giving. The quality of your life is in direct proportion to your willingness to give.

In the classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey discovered this truth. Though he had many
opportunities to pursue his ambitions elsewhere, George remained in his community and dedicated himself to providing affordable housing to its members. When his guardian angel showed him what the town would be like if he had never been born, Bailey realized how much of a difference his giving had made.

George also discovered another secret - that what you give is what you receive. Whatever you give out comes back to you. When you extend yourself to nurture the spiritual growth of another, you nurture your own growth.
Although his material possessions were modest, George Bailey was toasted the "richest" (i.e., the most beloved) man in town by the people of Bedford Falls. Later he remarked, "No man can be poor as long as he has friends."
Bailey gave of himself for the joy of giving, and joy is what he received. By following this path, we, too, can
be blessed.


You are reading from the book:

 Listening to Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch

When one knows Thee, then alien there is none, then no door is shut. Oh, grant me my prayer that I may never lose the touch of the one in the play of many.
--Rabindranath Tagore

When we make a person-to-person telephone call, we want to be connected with one particular person. If that person is not in, we make no connection.

Are we taking time to make person-to-person connections? Or are we seeking situations with groups of people so we don't have to be open and honest with just one person? We all need at least one person with whom to share confidences, laughter, tears, hugs, plans, and dreams. If we don't have this special person, we are like one bird in a nest: safe and warm, but isolated and alone.

We can attend a meeting every night and still be isolated and alone. Being around people doesn't necessarily mean we're making connections with them. To truly share ourselves, we need to open the doors to our lives and let at least one person in. Just one person can make the difference between isolation and connection.

I need to connect with a special friend. How can I open the door to this one person?

You are reading from the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

Kiamichi Council staff were a part of the McCurtain County Coalition for Change's efforts to pass a new ordinance banning any advertisement of alcohol, drugs or tobacco at the McCurtain County Free Fair.

For many of us, the most difficult word to say is one of the shortest and easiest in the vocabulary: No. Go ahead, say it aloud: No.

No - simple to pronounce, hard to say. We’re afraid people won’t like us, or we feel guilty. We may believe that a “good” employee, child, parent, spouse, or Christian never says no.

The problem is, if we don’t learn to say no, we stop liking ourselves and the people we always try to please. We may even punish others out of resentment.

When do we say no? When no is what we really mean.

When we learn to say no, we stop lying. People can trust us, and we can trust ourselves. All sorts of good things happen when we start saying what we mean.

If we’re scared to say no, we can buy some time. We can take a break, rehearse the word, and go back and say no. We don’t have to offer long explanations for our decisions.

When we can say no, we can say yes to the good. Our no’s and our yes’s begin to be taken seriously. We gain control of ourselves. And we learn a secret: “No” isn’t really that hard to say.

Today, I will say no if that is what I mean.
 
You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

May you live all the days of your life.
--Jonathan Swift

Indeed life is much like a game - both a deadly serious one and one that demands laughter, relaxation, and the ability to play. Either way, life demands attention.

There is much of life that is truly exciting and fascinating - are we watching for it? There is hilarity and humor - do we see it? There is that in life which is touching and full of heroism - are we open to seeing it?

All these are not only present in some general, nebulous way about life, but about our lives! Right here where we live, in our lives today, there will be the hero and the goat, there will be disappointment and reason for wild
celebration, there will be the beautiful and the horrible. The soap opera is not out there; it is right here with us, in us, all around us. The task is to be present in our own lives, to get our heads out of others' reality, and to find
the enormous meaning and vitality of our own.

Life is precious. 

Today, I will not take my life for granted.
 
You are reading from the book:

 Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty