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November 22 Reflection of the Day

“We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess,” wrote de Tocqueville, “but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.” We learn in Gamblers Anonymous that our defects do have value – to the extent that we use them as a starting point for change and a pathway to better things. Fear can be a stepping stone to prudence, for example, as well as to respect for others. Fear can also help us turn away from hate and toward understanding. In the same way, pride can lead us toward the road of humility.

Am I aware of my direction today? Do I care where I’m going?

Today I Pray
I pray that my Higher Power will show me how to use my defects in a positive way, because nothing – not even fear or selfishness or greed – is all bad. May I trust that every quality that leads me into trouble has a reverse side that can lead me out. Pride, for instance, can’t puff itself up unduly without bursting and demonstrating that it is, in essence, only hot air. May I learn from my weaknesses.

Today I will Remember.
Good news out of bad.

November 21 Reflection of the Day

Adversity introduces man to himself, a poet once said. For me, the same is true even of imagined adversity. If I expect another person to react in a certain way in a given situation – and he or she fails to meet my expectation – well, then I hardly have the right to be disappointed or angry. Yet I occasionally still experience feelings of frustration when people don’t act or react as I think they should. Through such imagined – or, better yet, self-inflicted – adversity. I come face to face again with my old self, the one who wanted to run the whole show.

Is it finally time for me to stop expecting and to start accepting?

Today I Pray
May I stop putting words in people’s mouths, programming them – in my own mind – to react as I expect them to. Expectations have fooled me before: I expected unbounded love and protection from those close to me, perfection from myself, undivided attention from casual acquaintances. On the adverse side, I expected failure from myself, and rejection from others. May I stop borrowing trouble – or triumph either – from the future.

Today I will Remember.
Accept. Not expect.

November 20 Reflection of the Day

I’ve come to measure success in a whole new way. My success today isn’t limited by social or economic benchmarks. Success is mine today, no matter what the undertaking, when I tap the power of God within me and allow myself to be an open channel for the expression of His good. The spirit of success works through me as increased vision and understanding, as creative ideas and useful service – as efficient use of my time and energy, and as cooperative effort with others.

Will I try to keep my mind centered in the realization that within me is the God-implanted power to succeed?

Today I Pray
May I develop a new concept of success, based on measurements of the qualities that come from God’s treasure-filled bank of good. To draw from that bank, all I have to do is look within myself. May I know that God’s riches are the only kind that are fully insurable, because they are infinite. May I look in God’s bank for my security.

Today I will Remember.
Spiritual “success” is my security.