Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (52 page)

Sallie A. Rodman

The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is unchangeable or certain.

John F. Kennedy

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
15

S
elf-respect is not a matter of what you are doing in your life, but rather of how you are doing it. It requires that you bring quality and virtue into each action, whatever that action may be. Sometimes you must burrow to find the good qualities in your nature that have gone underground and then coax them to the surface. Stopping for a moment and being silent can bring the steadiness you need for this task.

Brahma Kumaris
World Spiritual University

The world is your garden from which you remove weeds of doubt and replace them with seeds of hope.

Brahma Kumaris

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
16

I
will imagine a dream fulfilled right now, this moment. I will see the table prepared before me. Life means to support me in the realization of my desires. It will move in and help if I can truly allow myself to see and feel that what I wish for is possible and indeed ready to be. Over and over again, I will visualize the circumstance that I wish to have in my life. I will mentally interact with it as if it were real. I will accept it as possible for me as if it were actually happening right now. Then I will let it go. I will see in my mind what I wish to see manifest in my life.

Tian Dayton

Only those who have, receive.

Joseph Roux

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
17

I
f I am to grow into the awesome promise of my life, I must embrace the truth that I am not a victim, except by my own choosing. Yes, painful things have happened in my life, but there is a big difference between feeling the pain and wallowing in it.

In fact, if I listen to my pain it will tell me where I have beliefs that no longer serve me, where I need to set healthy limits and boundaries, and where I have given away the power to decide how I will feel about the events, relationships and circumstances of my life.

Jeff McFarland

Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed.

Blaise Pascal

Footnotes for Life

MD
ECEMBER
18

M
oney isn’t something to fear. It isn’t the root of all evil. With a good attitude, money improves living. In recovery, we change our attitudes and find joy in money. As we prosper, we can help those around us prosper as well. Ideas and creative thoughts flow from us as we direct our energies toward specific goals. Money can be one of those goals. It is a powerful source of success when that wheel of fortune starts spinning around in our favor. It is a magnificent feeling and a divine right. Being comfortable with money helps us be confident, have fun, affect and infect those around us with positive attitudes.

Yvonne Kaye

Wine maketh merry; but money assureth all things.

Ecclesiastes 10:19

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
19

F
or this alcoholic there is great irony in the choice of words when we talk about choosing to look at the glass half empty or half full. But choosing the optimistic approach makes all of the difference in every day of my recovery. A good day starts out with me remembering how far I’ve come and how strong I am. It is easy for me to get wrapped up in any problem du jour but then I see someone on the street, down and out, panhandling, drunk, and I am reminded that my problems today are luxurious compared to those I struggled with as an active alcoholic. I have a new lease on life, a second chance. I am forever grateful!

Dorri Olds

Perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

Stonewall Jackson

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
20

T
oday I will open myself to healing in my relationships. So much of life depends on the quality of intimacy with myself and so much of the quality of my intimacy is the quality of my relationships. It is synergistic. As my relationship with myself and my Higher Power gets better, my other relationships grow. Deep healing with people I care about has much more significance than might appear; it is soul and life-transforming. I experience moments of quiet expansion when my heart and mind actually feel as if they are widening in all directions. I am willing to grow a step at a time and heal little by little.

Tian Dayton

Life is not living, but living in health.

Martial

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
21

“S
o, it’s been six weeks, Mom. How long do you suppose it’s going to last this time?” Stunned, I looked deep into the eyes of my ten-year-old son. I saw skepticism, pain and disgust at my recent attempt at sobriety. He had heard it all before when I assured him numerous times that I would stop getting drunk.