JANUARY 3
Unique Journey
Live and let live is good advice.
The more comfortable we are with the knowledge that each of us has a unique journey to make, a specific purpose to fulfill, the easier it is to let other people live their own lives. When family members are in trouble with alcohol or other drugs, it's terribly difficult to let them have their own journey. Because we love them, we feel compelled to help them get clean and sober. In reality, all we can do is pray for their safety and well-being. Their recovery is up to them and their Higher Power.
For some of us it's a leap of faith to believe there really is a Divine plan of which we are all a part. And perhaps it's not even necessary to believe. But we'll find the hours of every day gentler if we accept that a Higher Power is watching over all of us.
Being able to let others live and learn their own lessons is one of our lessons. The more we master it, the more peaceful we'll be.
I have enough to do just living my life today. I can let others do what they must.
—from A Life of My Own
JANUARY 4
Connections with Others
Life is not what you did. It's what you are doing.
—Jim Burns
Today awaits our attention and involvement. We can sit and merely ponder the possibilities for action, thinking away the entire day. We could get involved in a volunteer effort; we always said we would when time allowed. We could reorganize the basement, the kitchen, the garage. Our lives allow for spontaneous pursuits now. Or we can keep our focus small, taking each hour as it comes and reaching out to at least one other person in every sixty-minute span of time, doing nothing major, simply expressing our aliveness.
Maybe it's a phone call that keeps us connected to the human community. Or perhaps it's writing a long overdue letter. Offering a hello and a smile to a neighbor or a fellow shopper quite specifically strengthens our connection to the human community. It's not what we do that's so important. Rather, it's making at least one human contact with another living soul that will benefit all of our lives today.
Being too busy to let others know how much they matter to me isn't a problem any longer. Every day offers me opportunities to connect with others.
—from Keepers of the Wisdom
JANUARY 5
Divine Plan
We are exactly where we need to be right now.
It's good to be reminded that we are where we need to be, particularly if we're prone to think we are missing out on some opportunity or fearful that we aren't making significant progress in our careers or other areas. When we doubt that we're doing enough in any regard, this principle helps us quiet down and ready ourselves to peacefully do the right thing. It will always surface.
It's comforting to realize there are no accidents, no coincidences happening in our lives. What we need to experience, to learn, to teach, in order to complete our journey home, will spring forth when the timing is perfect. We'll never have to search in vain for our next assignment. It will capture our attention.
There is never a need for lamentations. If we haven't fulfilled some task to our satisfaction, we can redo it. Now. If we haven't treated a companion or co-worker respectfully, we can make amends. Now. There isn't anything complicated about how to move through this day or these activities. We simply need to walk with the Holy Spirit and we'll get to our destination on time.
There are no mistakes in what comes my way today. How I respond depends on who I ask to help me see the circumstances.
—from Daily Meditations for Practicing the Course
JANUARY 6
Opportunities
Each day is a “workshop.” Let's remember to keep our minds and hearts open so we won't miss our opportunities.
—Dudley Martineau
Looking at every day as a workshop for more productive or rewarding living eases the dread of new or unfamiliar circumstances. Developing the belief that we will be given exactly what we need to learn will change how we meet every twenty-four hours.
Before recovery we expected life to be hard. Our jobs often felt like drudgery. Our families seldom gave us the affirmation we longed for. Friends were unavailable. What we felt we deserved and sought, we often didn't find. That was then. This is now.
It's a simple change in perspective to come to believe that we are given what we need from our jobs, our families, our friends, every day. Accepting this belief will influence the outcome of every experience. Our lives will never seem the same.
I paid my dues for today's workshop by becoming abstinent. What I learn is up to me.
—from A Woman's Spirit
JANUARY 7
Behavior
Of course, fortune has its part in human affairs, but conduct is really much more important.
—Jeanne Detourbey
It's not infrequent that we are faced with a dilemma; what is the best action to take in a certain situation? We can be guided, rightly, in every situation if we but turn inward and let our conscience direct our behavior. We have often heard it said at meetings that when we long for a message from God we will hear it, either through our conscience or in the words of our friends. Thus we can never really be in doubt; our conduct can always be above reproach if we but listen.
Right behavior leads to fortunate opportunities for those who look for them. Behavior that we're proud of seems to attract blessings in our lives. One's good fortune is really God-given and in proportion to one's willingness to act well toward others in all situations.
Simply, what goes around, comes around. Our behavior comes back to us, manyfold. In our encounters with others today, we'll have numerous occasions to decide about the best behavior for the particular circumstance. We must not forget that our behavior elicits the responses we receive.
I will invite blessings today. I will also shower blessings on my friends.
—from Each Day a New Beginning
JANUARY 8
Decisions
No decision has to bind us forever.
Most of us are no longer sure what we want to be doing a year or even a month from now. When we are called upon to make decisions that commit us to a certain path in the future, we shudder. Will we be allowed to change our minds?
What a change this is from earlier years. Many of us led very controlled lives. We felt safest when we knew exactly what we were going to do. We liked it best when we were able to control others' lives too, even though we failed at that much of the time.
Although we may have responsibilities at work and at home,