Just For Today
From the Emotions Anonymous program one day at a time.
It has been written by members of Emotions Anonymous for anyone who wants to spend a part of each day with a few minutes in thought, prayer and meditation. It is our hope that these daily readings may help us find serenity, courage, wisdom, and peace of mind so vital in our everyday lives and the world we live in -- today.
Book available at local meetings and online at www.emotionsanonymous.org
February 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
We are afraid of failure and also afraid of success. With success comes a responsibility to self and to others. We can best handle success by turning to our Higher Power with gratitude. We may also be afraid of falling on our faces again. What will people think? We may feel we need to live up to some image, but we do not. Even if we do stumble and fall, and ultimately we will, we will be given the strength to once again pick ourselves up. We will gain more humility, we will learn from our falling, and we will become stronger and more capable.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I realize You are with me to help me handle success, too.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
An attitude of gratitude will keep our success in perspective.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
In the northern part of the United States we honor a kind of silly tradition called Groundhog Day on this date. As the legend goes, this small animal comes out of hibernation to see if he can see his shadow. If the sun is shining, he runs back into his hole and that is supposed to mean six more weeks of winter, which no one wants. The groundhog reminds me of myself in my pre-program days - afraid of my own shadow. I was afraid of my past, my present, and my future. I believed the remainder of my life would be all winter. There was no love to warm me or any hope to kindle a spark of energy to set my inner furnace working. I have learned I have nothing to be afraid of because I have a Higher Power to turn to. My life has grown to include all four seasons: summer, fall, winter, and spring
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Help me realize the seasons come from my heart and mind.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Life is fuller with all four seasons.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Intimacy is not referring only to sexual relationships. Intimacy is being very close to someone: someone we trust, someone with whom we can share our deepest thoughts and feelings. We all need an intimate relationship, even those who might vehemently express they do not. To have someone truly know us, and still accept us, gives us the human bonding we need to find our existence meaningful. We are loveable. We do count. We are worthwhile. Yet we will never come to this realization unless we leave the door to our heart open.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I have the humility to be myself and let someone close know something I have been hiding.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Each time we risk being vulnerable and are accepted, we feel love. We also discover a greater awareness of our value.
N/A August 17, 2008
N/A August 17, 2008
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
I decide on a daily basis to surrender my will and my life (my thoughts and my actions) to God. This step is one of total surrender. I am saying, "My life is Yours, God. I am willing to do Your will for me." My job is to pay attention, for God does let me know what is wanted from me as I go through my day. Much of the time it is taking care of ordinary activities. I call it putting one foot in front of the other.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I have the willingness to surrender all aspects of my life to my loving Higher Power.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Surrender!
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Today I am happy. I am happy because I am me. I am happy because my life is filled with wonders: people, places, and things. I am happy because I know I have much to give and much to receive. Today is an extraordinary day. I am happy because wonderful things are going to happen to me today. I will have new, satisfying, productive ideas and I will have new, satisfying, productive ideas and experiences. I will meet loving people who will share themselves with me. Someone will give me a hug or a warm touch and a smile. There will be laughter, sunshine, and serenity - even if it rains.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
I give thanks for this day and bless every moment of it.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I am happy!
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
I am a "caretaker." I thought I knew what was best for everyone. They would be fine if they would only follow my advice. When they did not, I became frustrated and angry and felt rejected. The program teaches me that God is in charge, not me. I resent other people trying to control me; why shouldn't other people resent my trying to control them? I am not God. I am powerless to change anyone but myself. When I get too busy in other people's lives, it is because I am running away from myself.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I remember that if I quit running the world, control will revert to the Power who is, and should be, in control - You.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I am not in charge. God is.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
I have some secret goals, some things I long to do, and yet fear often holds me back. It can be fear of failure or fear of success. I keep saying, "I can't," to myself. Saying or thinking "I can't" certainly limits me. That is the time to start saying, "I want to, and with my Higher Power's help, I can!" Nothing is impossible with the help of my Higher Power. I can get all the strength I need, all the ability I need, and all the confidence I need. I can be free, happy, healthy, loving, and successful. I can be all I was created to be.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Thanks for all the help You give to me when I ask and when I do not. Remind me never to take that help for granted.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I want to and I can!
N/A August 17, 2008
N/A August 17, 2008
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
What am I struggling with today? Do I still have some characteristics I wish to be rid of? I must be patient. God will give me all the strength I need to deal with my problems, one day at a time. The solutions may not come immediately. If I get too anxious and try to take back control, I will only meet with frustration and self-hate due to what I feel is my personal failure. One small step forward, firmly planted, will be better than making two giant strides, only to trip and fall backward three steps.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
I pray that You will show me which roads to go down first and that each step I take will be firmly planted with trust.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
If all else fails, try a little patience!
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
When I came to the program, Step Three was confusing to me. Now I have learned that even though I may not totally understand God, or the meaning of God's will, I can still make a decision to surrender. I have already proved to myself that I alone cannot manage my life. What image I have of a Higher Power is not important. It is best that I just make a decision on whether I want God in my life or not. What have I got to lose?
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
If I cannot manage to say anything else, then just let me be able to say, "Help me."
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Stop analyzing - start accepting!
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Today is a special day celebrated by lovers in the United States. The heart is a symbol which has been seen in stores for weeks. Sweethearts send each other cards, flowers, candy. We call friends and relatives to say, "Hi, I am thinking of you." We care for each other to be nice to friends and strangers alike. In short, the day is dedicated to love. Why only one day of the year? I can strive for two days and then three and so on. In the past I was afraid to show love for fear of rejection. It is not as hard as it used to be. I have seen how necessary love is to me.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Help me to not be fearful of sharing my love and friendship all year long.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Lack of love will pain me much more than lots of love.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
No matter what my problem is today, no matter my mood, and no matter the weather, I can find something to be happy about if I put my mind to it. I can search for and find something to be thankful for, if it is only that I got out of bed this morning. It is not God who need to be thanked, but I who need to be grateful. This gratitude fills my heart and gives me a new spirit. I give myself a fantastic reward - a thankful heart which fills a great need.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Fill me with a spirit of thankfulness.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Thank and be thankful.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
".... We aim for an atmosphere of love and acceptance." This helpful concept tells me how to behave toward the newcomer to my group who is almost certainly hurting and who may be behaving in a way I do not like. But isn't this concept important in my other relationships too? If I threaten to reject people in an attempt to get them to change their behavior, I am not loving, I am manipulating. Only by giving my love freely can I create the atmosphere in which I wish to live.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Help me to love others and to wish them their highest good, even when this conflicts with my own plans or wishes.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
The love I give without strings attached mysteriously returns to me.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
We are not here to judge each other, but to accept each other. God is our only judge and so much kinder to us than we are to ourselves. Many times in the past we judged others. But were we equipped to make these judgments? Do we know what brought another to take a certain action? We judge others because we are so harsh with ourselves. The more we can accept our own failures and weaknesses, the more likely we will cease to judge others.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I realize that if I am judging another, it is only a sign of my own self-rejection.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
As I begin to talk kindly to myself, I will experience an inner peace and calmness. It will show in how I treat others.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
As I attempt to live the twelve-step program, I find my focus redirected from the crippling effects of negative feelings and begin to see myself as part of a larger world. No longer must I exaggerate my self-importance or diminish my self-worth in my relationships with others. I am growing in my ability to recognize reality, and I am beginning to feel good about my part in the real world.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Remind me that my program offers me a blueprint for positive action.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Life can be a prison if I lock myself away from others and dwell on my own negativity.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
How painful it is at times to make choices. We want the best of both worlds. Yet most of the time this simply cannot be. We need to give up one thing to gain something else. As we seek guidance from our Higher Power and from our friends, we are helped to see the choice which will bring us our greatest good. The feeling of loss is also real and we need to acknowledge this pain. By facing our pain we are able to let go of the loss and go on once again.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I have the courage to get off the fence and make a choice.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
As I focus on the growth my loss created, the pain of the loss will dissipate.
N/A August 17, 2008
N/A August 17, 2008
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Maybe my fear comes from thinking that someone is "out to get me" because of what they said or did. The only way I am going to calm that fear is by talking to the person and telling them how I feel. I have been amazed to find that usually the other person is surprised I interpreted the words or actions the way I did because that had not been what was meant. My fear was groundless, but I never would have known if I had not asked.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I remember that most of my fears come from my own negative thinking. I ask for the courage to seek clarification.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Ask.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
How many times have we all made statements like the following? "I'll save the good crystal and china for when special company comes." "When I get a bigger house, my life will be better." "When I get enough money and can retire, I will be happy." We are projecting happiness into the future and forgetting that today is the day to be happy. Today is our day that God has given us to live and enjoy. The present moment is an opportunity for us to make use of our assets and enter into life with vim, vigor, and vitality.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I always remember to live in and enjoy each of life's precious moments.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Live for the now!
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Am I identifying life as depression, anxiety, or another symptom? Am I afraid that if this unpleasantness were taken from me there would be nothing left? Am I truly willing to have my misery taken away? Have I embraced a new way of life? Have I stopped picturing myself as an emotional cripple with the implication that I can never hope to recover? Do I acknowledge God? Or do I worship and hold on to my self-pity and fear to change?
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May my eyes be opened to the difference between believing that I cannot and should not ever change, or accepting myself as I am today and being able to change. Help me to know I am, and have a choice to be, more than my pain.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I will have the courage to accept the peace of the program.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
If I have been working my program so long I think my bad times are over and I can control my life and my emotions, then I am probably close to a slip. None of us is immune to slipping. If I think I no longer need help, I may already be in trouble. I will always be powerless over my emotions. But as long as I take good care of myself and deal with my negative attitudes, I can have serenity.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I take joy and pride in my emotional stability, but may my Higher Power also protect me from smugness.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I am powerless over my emotions.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
"You are not alone." This slogan is so important, yet I often defeat it by my attitude. I cultivate loneliness by refusing to make a telephone call, by avoiding conversation at the EA meeting, or by failing to tell even my best friend how I feel. I say I have no friends. The truth is, I have many friends, but I treat them as strangers. When I am angry, I do not want other people in my life, and yet I blame them for not being there.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I have the humility to risk inviting others to come a little closer into my life.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I will not nourish my own loneliness by withdrawing from others.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
When I am lost in Me-ness, thinking only of myself, what I am really doing is demanding the powers and privileges of a Higher Power. I expect all my plans to turn out just as I want them to; I demand that all my desires be satisfied, that I be perfect in all I do, that others do what I want them to do. In short, I demand that my will be done. Never am I more irrational, more grandiose, and more out of touch with my humanness.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
May I learn to embrace my own humanness instead of futilely trying to transcend it. May I become an accepting person rather than a frustrated, would-be God. May Thy will be done instead of mine.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
I deserve to be human - no more, no less.
REFLECTION FOR TODAY
It seems so easy to pull up stakes, move to a different house, job, or town and believe miracles will happen, and that our lives will change for the better simply because of the move. We tend to forget that wherever we go, we take us. We take our emotions, our feelings, and everything we are made of. The only thing which will make our lives better is to change us - inside. We are the only ones who can do this, with God's help. We must do away with the negative attitudes and change to positive thinking. No external thing can make us happy.
MEDITATION FOR TODAY
Help me to change my attitudes so serenity gets easier to find.
TODAY I WILL REMEMBER
Geographic changes alone will not enhance my life.