Twas the Night Before Cristmas on PalTalk

T’was the month before Christmas,,
and all through the land,,
people on pal talk where getting banned,,
if it wasn’t a ban then it was a bounce.

for the admins are stupid,
and cant take the heat,,
they want the plebs,,
to be under their seat.

They put on their hats,,
And look so grand,,
But cross their path,,
And you will be banned

Bounced I have been,,
And banned as well,,
Cos an admin threatened me,,
And I thought what the hell

Now hell is a word
That Christians don’t like
They all think of heaven
And others peoples plight

Going to heaven
Is where we are bound
Then we and the admins
Will be on equal ground

God is the Admin
Of that heavenly place
So admins in pal
Better learn some grace!

Got this today from my dear pal Ray. It brought a smile to my face. For those of you that this poem makes no sense at all........Paltalk is a chat server where I attend online AA meetings and it is the place I have met some wonderful people. This is the very place I met Simply Anna who has become my bestest friend and to who's blog I have a link on the right. There has been a bit of controversy on line lately about what the third tradition means and what is acceptable behavior in meetings. The thing is you'll never please all of the people all of the time so you have to go with your values and you God Conscience.

The Greatest Gift

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can' t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together .

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Got this prayer from a friend and I loved it. It is something I have been working on, but not as hard as I should have been. I will be using this prayer often....so that I can come closer to being slow to judge, quick to forgive, show patience, emapthy and love.

Tolerance

Today's Thought

You are reading from the book Twenty Four Hours a Day Hardcover (24 Hours).

A.A. Thought for the Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Live and Let Live." This, of course, means tolerance of people who think differently than we do, whether they are in A.A. or outside of A.A. We cannot afford the luxury of being intolerant or critical of other people. We do not try to impose our wills on those who differ from us. We are not "holier than thou." We do not have all the answers. We are not better than other good people. We live the best way we can and we allow others to do likewise. Am I willing to live and let live?

Meditation for the Day

"And this is life eternal, that we may know Thee, the only true God." Learning to know God as best you can draws the eternal life nearer to you. Freed from some of the limitations of humanity, you can grow in the things that are eternal. You can strive for what is real and of eternal value. The more you try to live in the consciousness of the unseen world, the gentler will be your passing into it when the time comes for you to go. This life on earth should be largely a preparation for the eternal life to come.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may live each day as though it were my last. I pray that I may live my life as though it were everlasting.

This program teaches that love and tolerance of others is our code. That is something I try to live daily. I have found that my Higher Power speaks to me through other people and that those other people may be the very folks that some shun. I have to remember that I am no better, no worse than the next person I will encounter. Each of us was created by a loving Higher Power and we are exactly who he wants us to be. I do live each day as it were my last for ultimately I have only today. Tomorrow is never a guarentee. Thanks to all of you, for it is really you who have taught me what tolerance is by your very actions of accepting me, just as I am, no matter what stupid mistakes and choices I make, no matter what comes out of my mouth. By following your example I have learned to love myself and as my Anna always says, God is love and if I stay in touch with my Higher Power than love is what comes forth from me.

Wiilingness

Today's thought is:
When all is said and done, willingness is everything. --Frank D.

Most of us adult children know very well that recovery doesn't happen, nor is there any positive growth, unless we are first of all willing.

Sometimes we get confused over the difference between willing and wanting. We don't have to want, let alone enjoy, doing what needs to be done. Not wanting to do something is altogether different from not being willing to do it. As one recovering woman said, "Everything I ever let go of had claw marks all over it." The bottom line is that she did let go no matter how badly she wanted to hang on; she was willing.

Think of the people in the program we most admire, those whose progress seems so speedy compared to ours. They may very well not enjoy going out to meetings. They may find it uncomfortable to meet with their sponsors or to say kind words when they really want to complain. They may wish they didn't have to make amends to certain people. But druthers aren't the point. The point is that they are willing to do what it takes.

Today, I ask God to help me deepen my willingness to grow and to see the difference between what I want and what I will.

I am finally coming to that place in my life where I am willing to do what it takes to move forward. The people in the program that I most admire have shown me that the only way to freedom from that which enslaves me is though it, there is no way around it. With the help of my HP and those people I am ready to embrace my past, go through it and remove it's powerful hold on me. It is not what I want to do, but I'm willing to do it if it's necessary. This must begin with self care. It is something I struggle with, but for today, something I am willing to do.

Who are You?

If you are not your name, your career, your relationship, your possessions or your body, then who is being harmed?

We all trudge through life carrying backpacks filled with preconceptions and judgements. But each time we are able to discard just one preconception, it is like removing a stone from the pack, our steps become lighter, our vision, clearer. The journey becomes a joyful adventure.

As we taste freedom, we begin to realize that there is nobody to be harmed. As the quest continues, we awaken t the truth that there is also nobody harming us.

Taken from Heart of Forgiveness by Madeline Ko-I Bastis

When we look at our soul rather than the shell of people we lose our preceptions and judgements. We can truly treat each other as fellow travelers on this journey of life. Each of us equal........no one of us better or worse than any other.