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> From: NewParadigmFund@aol.com
> Date: March 18, 2011 10:50:33 AM EDT
> To: perowan@gmail.com, skovaleski@hunton.com, tjd@larashullmay.com, cjtfarrell@gmail.com, duplessisfamily@hotmail.com, peter.judge@cox.net, icelandfish@msn.com, nick_yacoub@yahoo.com, azizasis@yahoo.com, gregtafe@yahoo.com, dshapiro@umw.edu, chriskennemer@gmail.com, jeff@motternmasonry.com, implantfellow@yahoo.com
> Subject: Fwd: Today, Friday, March 18, 2011
>

> Subj: Today, Friday, March 18, 2011
>
> March 18:
> Whoa–Turbo Dave has 9 years tomorrow
>
> Gratitude is an inner light that we can use to illumine our souls. The more we are thankful, the more light we experience and the more we shine forth into the world.(my comment: the more we realize that sobriety is a wonderful way of life and we discard the notion that not being able to drink again is a life sentence. We are no longer slaves to fear of the unknown.)
>
> This is March, the 3rd month of the year;
> • The 3rd Tradition: The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
> • The 3rd Step: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
> • The 3rd Promise: We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
> ___________________
> A.A. Thought for the Day
>
> When we alcoholics first come into A.A. and we face the fact that we must spend the rest of our life without liquor, it often seems like an impossibility to us. So A.A. tells us to forget about the future and take it one day at a time. All we really have is now. We have no past time and no future time. As the saying goes: "Yesterday is gone, forget it; tomorrow never comes, don't worry; today is here, get busy." All we have is the present. The past is gone forever and the future never comes. When tomorrow gets Here, it will be today. Am I living one day at a time?
>
> Meditation for the Day
>
> Persistence is necessary if you are to advance in spiritual things. By persistent prayer, persistent, firm, and simple trust, you achieve the treasures of the spirit. By persistent practice, you can eventually obtain joy, peace, assurance, security, health, happiness, and serenity. Nothing is too great, in the spiritual realm, for you to obtain, if you persistently prepare yourself for it.
>
> Prayer for the Day
>
> I pray that I may persistently carry out my spiritual exercises every day. I pray that I may strive for peace and serenity.
>
> Source: Twenty-Four Hours a Day, Richmond Walker, Copyright © 1975, Hazeldon Foundation, printed in the USA. Editor’s note: This book was compiled by Richmond Walker (1892–1965) of the Group at Daytona Beach, Florida. I get the text from the following website: http://www.anonymityone.com/h24/0403EN.htm Note 4 numbers after “h24/”: the first two are the day of the month and the second two are the month. Example: To get daily reading for December 21st, you would change the URL to http://www.anonymityone.com/h24/2112EN.htm
>
> Gratitude Is the Antidote to Bitterness and Resentment
> The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.
> -----Shakti Gawain (You can google her name to see who she is)
> Twenty years ago, Cynthia, a petite, talented woman in her late twenties, got divorced in a terrible breakup. Two decades later, bitter and resentful, she is still obsessed with her ex-husband, bad-mouthing him to her children and friends whenever she gets a chance, convinced that he ruined her life. In a way, of course, he did. Because she kept focusing on her pain and resentment, she was never able to heal and move on. Hurt and hateful, she hasn’t been able to attract new lover in her life, and her now-grown children avoid her like the plague.
> Have you ever met someone so bitter about their life that they feel like a black hole sucking away all the energy around them? Whether we call them pessimists, ingrates, or those who always see the glass as half-empty, they are a drag to be around. So focused on what hasn’t worked for them they can’t see the ways they have been the recipient of gifts, blessings, and surprises.
> Most of us aren’t total black holes, but when we fail to give thanks for what happens in our lives, we can get hung up in bitterness that prevents us from developing emotionally and spiritually. If we fail to grow, the light inside us grows dim.
> Bitterness is a poison that snuffs the light of our souls, hardening us to life’s pleasures and joys by keeping us focused only on what is wrong. When the man I lived with for fourteen years left me, he said it was because I was turning bitter and he didn’t want to stick around to see it. Although there were other reasons for our breakup, including many he was responsible for, after the pain of the loss had subsided I gave thanks to him for the wake-up call; I was turning into a resentful woman, and that was the last thing on Earth I wanted to be.
> I’m determined not to sink into bitterness again. While there are plenty of things in life to be justifiably annoyed, angry, or hurt at, that doesn’t mean that I should completely ignore all that is beautiful, good, and touching. I want my soul to shine with an overflowing of love, and practicing gratitude is one of the best ways I know to do it.
> Gratitude is an inner light that we can use to illumine our souls. The more we are thankful, the more light we experience and the more we shine forth into the world.
>
> From Attitude of Gratitude: How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life, M.J. Ryan, Barnes & Noble Books, N.Y., 1999.
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