“Happiness is…giving hope to others.” – DailyHappinessQuotes.com

When speaking of hope, within the context of sharing our experience, strength and hope, we give hope to others, rather than desiring hope for ourselves. In showing that I overcame a challenge by applying the tools, I inspire others to work their program and reap the rewards of success, abundance and happiness. Alternatively, if I only share my difficulty (experience) and the tools I’m using (strength) but no success (hope) as of yet, I am playing the victim. I refuse to be a victim. Today I will share only those hopes that have become a reality, inspiring others that their reality can become amazing when they make the time to the deal, ILML! 

– JamieQ

“Self-pity… I can see it for what it is — a waste of time”. – Courage to Change p. 177

The cure to self-pity is helping those less fortunate than me. It allows me to put my life into perspective, and helps me to appreciate what I have more. It also boosts self-esteem, confidence and compassion. It gives me a purpose. It allows me to transform my thoughts from thinking less of myself to thinking of myself less. Service. Giving back. Mentoring with love, not control or dictation. But to mentor I must be a loving example of recovery in action. I have found, love and am proud of my rigorously consistent program. Rituals, prayer, meditation, exercise, work, play. I seek a balance. Then I go to meetings and share what it was like, what my program is now, and how it has reshaped my life. Then I share it with others, one on one, and I am given the best gift of all — the opportunity to love and help others. This builds my self-esteem and destroys my self-pity, so that I love who I am becoming and ILML!

– JamieQ

“It is my fervent hope that my whole life on this earth will ever be tears and laughter.” – Kahlin Gibran

An odd quote to choose for someone like me, a devout life lover, right? No really. The hurt, pain and sadness I’ve experienced has made the moments of joy and happiness so much more precious. I understand fully that pain and sadness will come again, I’m not afraid of it. But I now have the tools to walk through those feelings gracefully and quickly, refocusing on all that I have to be grateful for, which brings me back to that wonderful place where I smile, laugh and LML! 

– JamieQ

“Change… will take us where we are going.. trust our Higher Power… the change taking place is good.” – The Language of Letting Go 

Sometimes in life things change. Sometimes the changes are subtle. Sometime they’re dramatic. sometimes they seem good, sometimes bad. Those changes we perceive as bad can be scary, but I’ve walked through some seemingly terrible changes – like divorce, a brain tumor, the death of my baby brother – and I’ve come out the other side stronger, and in some cases with unexpected gifts. By remaining consistently connected with the program and my higher power (the feeling of gratitude and goodness) I insist on loving life, regardless of the changes I face. Today I invite love no matter what. ILML! 

– JamieQ

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

Here’s why I think the 12 step program is so powerful and has achieved such an emormous following. Regardless of our dis-ease, we are all really searching for a feeling of fulfillment in life. Those lucky enough to make a lot of money discover it’s not fulfilling for long. But by diligently working the program, building self esteem, sharing it with others, and loving them unconditionally we gain fulfillment that lasts a lifetime. So the secret is to immerse ourselves in it, master the attainment of fulfillment, love our lives, pass it on and then continue to experience the feeling of fulfillment each and every day! ILML! 

– JamieQ

“Fear knocked at the door; faith answered; no one was there.” – Daily Reflections

We all know fear, but what is faith? Is it a man in robes on a chair in the sky? Is it another religious God? Is it nature? To me, faith is none of these things. Rather it’s simply believing in goodness. Belief that everything will be ok, in fact it will be better than ok, it will be great! When I’m in a place of faith, believing and focusing on abundance, gratitude and all the good stuff in my life, fear has no power over me, I’m at peace, comfortable in my own skin, happy, joyous and free and, of course… ILML! 

“Resentment… From it stem all forms of spiritual disease… If I continue to relive hurts and hate, I will hurt and hate myself.” – Daily Reflections

Resentment is a big word. So let’s simplify it. In short, resentment means ANY all ALL feelings of upsettedness. Period. It’s being upset about something, someone or even our own behavior, thoughts or feelings. But wait, isn’t it ok to get upset? Of course! The question is, is it healthy to STAY upset? No!!! Staying upset makes us sick. Emotionally, spiritually and often physically. So the moment I feel upset I pick up some tools from the spiritual toolkit I’ve put together and invite love and gratitude. Like a fire extinguisher it puts out the flames of resentment and once again ILML! 

– JamieQ

“Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know. It is a bar to all spiritual progress…” Daily Reflections

A common saying in AA sums it up like this: “Poor me. Poor me. Pour me another drink.” Self-pity, victimhood, silent scorn and martyrdom all share in common a miserable set of thoughts, feelings and actions: “I am unhappy; it’s not fair, why me?; it’s hopeless; I’m a loser; I’ve failed myself; I’m failing others; this is horrible; I’m going to hide out; I’ll never be happy; and, what’s the point.” I’ve never met anyone that hasn’t been there before. The good news is THERE IS A SOLUTION. The moment I even sense self-pity creeping in I grab my spiritual backpack (which is always close), read some motivations, reach out to help someone who needs help and poof, self-pity disappears and once again, ILML! 

– JamieQ

“I do not love in order that I may be loved back again, but for the creative joy of loving.” – Attitudes of Gratitude in Love 

Prior to fully immersing myself into my daily recovery practices, I loved others, in large part, so that they would love me. I thought, “If only they would love me, I would be happy.” The problem with this thinking is that expectation leads to resentment, particularly when it comes to loving. These days I love not so much to be loved by others (though that’s nice too), but to love myself. In other words, when I practice loving others with no expectation of love in return, I love who I am. And loving the man I’ve become – an unconditional lover – is a big reason why ILML! 💜

– JamieQ

“Today, I will relax, breathe, and go with the flow.” – The Language of Letting Go, April 12th

Each morning I read out of my spiritual backpack. Many books are daily readers, meaning I turn to today’s date and read the page. But occasionally what’s on today’s date doesn’t resonate, so I break the rules — I read another date. I used to be so rigid in my discipline I wouldn’t allow myself to do this. These days, when I don’t enjoy the page I’m reading, I relax, breathe, read another page and go with the flow. This easier, softer, more flexible attitude helps insure that ILML!

– JamieQ