“Through prayer and meditation, I open channels, then I establish and improve my conscious contact with God. Through action I then receive the power I need to maintain my sobriety each day. By maintaining my spiritual condition, by giving away what has been so freely given me, I am granted a daily reprieve.” – Drop the Rock

The daily goal in a nutshell! There is a simple equation for a great life – prayer & meditation play a big role in it. Today I have been granted a reprieve. HOLLER! iLmL

– RichieB

“… we were prodded by unreasonable fears or anxieties into making a life business of winning, fame, money and what we thought was leadership. So false pride became the reverse side of that ruinous coin marked “Fear”. 12&12

It’s easy to get lost in the pursuit of more. More money. More notoriety. More respect. More security. It’s also easy to let fear of not having enough, or losing things, compel me to put money above all else. When I do, I know I’m off course. If I put my program first and diligently stay in the solution, connecting with Source, my fear and need for more disappears & I am absolutely taken care of. Today I having a loving power that I really do trust. ILML!

– JamesQ

“… much of my extra weight comes from the expectations I have for myself to be more.”
– Dr. Amy Johnson, TinyBuddah.com

Being optimistic is one of the underlying foundations of my success in life. I shoot for the stars and stay optimistic. But expectation lay just beyond optimism, and when I’m not careful, my optimism gets replaced by expectation. If I get what I want, great. If I don’t, I’m destined for an emotional hangover – closed off to future abundance. So today I’ll shoot for optimism and embrace life, whatever the outcome is, knowing more abundance is always heading my way, provided I stay open to it. ILML!

– JamesQ

“Fear is the energy that activates my character defects… What triggers my fear…? Trying to control… I make a list, with one column titled “can change” and another titled “can’t change.” – Hope For Today 8/15

I read this with my Sponsee Richie yesterday and it makes a lot of sense. If I find myself struggling, I’ll whip out my pen, make these two lists, direct my attention to the “Can Change List” and give my HP the “Can’t Change List”. Just one more tool to invite serenity back in. ILML!

– JamesQ

“… until you heal the wounds of the past, you will continue to bleed…” – Iyanla Vanzant’s Yesterday, I Cried

That’s the beauty of steps 4-9. When used as a daily tool they are a formula to heal all pain quickly and stay healthy. Burying pain only leads to bleeding ulcers from suppressing my dis-ease. Left unchecked it grows into an emotional and physical cancer. But when I acknowledge & accept that I am hurt, then take action to resolve it with my program tools and HP, I stop the bleeding, often before it starts. Magically, once again, I join the winning side and, again, get to love my life!

“Where there is hatred, let me sow love”. – Excerpt from the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi out of the 12 Step Prayer Book

When it comes right down to it, if this is my real true goal, to always bring love, not just where there is hatred but into every action, word and thought I have, I can continue to skyrocket through this amazing life I’ve been given. Love is the miracle grow for this life beyond my wildest dreams. I hope I never stop spreading it around. ILML!

“… A.A. has done more for me than just stop me from drinking… It has taught me that success and failure are never final, and that neither count for very much in the final assessment of any man who has done his best.”
– Big Book, “The Career Officer”

Three others in our program, along with me, email our daily gratitude lists to each other. The other day, one of them wrote on their list that they were grateful for backup plans. Often times we just respond to each other with encouragement. Today I’d like to share my comment to his gratitude with you.

I’m a big believer in Plan B’s. I put 110% into my goals and stay optimistic while recognizing that I still may not get what I seek. But that’s good too because I believe that my HP has a better plan.

Having a Plan B is part of my preparation; actually, it’s part of my Plan A. Knowing I’m ok with Plan B if Plan A doesn’t happen gives me a sense of comfort, while still being hopeful that Plan A happen will happen. The achievement of plan A is generally conditional upon me working towards my goal, and it being God’s will (loving and in my best interest).

In the past, I constantly felt both hopeless and angry when I would try so very hard for something that did not materialize. Today I find lessons in all my efforts, regardless of the result. In this way I get to love my life no matter what happens!

One last thing. Expectations. Plans tend to be tied to hopes, and hopes are very close to expectations. Unmet expectations can lead to disappointment, resentment, self-pity and hopelessness.

Plan Bs help me dodge all those uncomfortable feelings when I don’t get the result I was shooting for, leaving the door open for gratitude to flow in. So when I plan something out I like to look at the possibility of my plan not materializing. I walk through those feelings in advance, make peace with the result I didn’t want, and still optimistically go after achieving my goal. This process has saved me from thousands of hours of needless suffering.

It is my hope that some small part of this story will enrich your life and help you avoid some of the struggling that often results when things don’t go the way we planned. ILML!

JamieQ