Month: March 2019

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – weakness

I have a confession to make – my name is Larry and I am a TV news show junkie.  Not baseball, not sit-coms, not movies from 1948, no, I sit for several hours watching the latest developments from national leaders unfold on my screen.  You might say, “Well Larry, that’s a good thing.  It is good to stay on top of current events.”

No, no, no this is not a good thing.  How do I know?  I know that when I have viewed a great movie classic or an exciting baseball game, when I have guffawed uncontrollably over the antics of a sit-com cast, I feel good.  However, when I have spent 4 hours watching this political figure or that wannabe leader spout a stream of accusations and innuendo, defame people who are my heroes, immaturely slander others who aspire to make a difference in our society…when bedtime rolls around, I am angry, disturbed, depressed and vindictive.  My internal dictionary tells me that these are negatives.  That is not a good thing.  I try not to entertain negatives in my life.

Denying that I have a problem does not help.  Believing that I can practice controlled viewing does not work.  When 7 PM rolls around I am magnetically drawn to the remote control, I am savoring the first few minutes of updates.  Ten minutes is too much and four hours is not enough.  My mind is putty in the hands of those celebrity pundits appearing on my screen.  Hold me, caress me, teach me the things I need to know about society and politics.  Yes, yes, yes, form my opinions, make me intelligent and witty, give me the words to argue with any of my neighbors.  Here I am.  Take me now and we will dwell forever in digital ecstasy.

Pretty damn sad, isn’t it?  So, as you may have noticed, the title of this post is “IT’S A GREAT DAY! – weakness.”  When I was a young boy working with my grandfather on his farm, the farm hands who assisted in the summer months were young, mature, worldly men who had been around the block a few times.  They knew the pleasures and the secrets of life.  Full of advice for a boy growing up totally naïve, they always joked with me about girls and the mysteries of puberty and adolescence.  But invariably, with dead seriousness, they would then end the conversation with, “Life is great if ya don’t weaken.”

“Hmmm,” I wondered to myself, “what on earth are they talking about?”

Trial and error answered my question.  Many trials and many errors in dealing with sex, in finding my place in society, in succumbing to numerous addictions.  If anyone learned about life the hard way, it was me.  ‘Life is great if ya don’t weaken’ took on painful profundity as I battled the demons which were in control of Larry, the young man.

When I share my concern with the news programs addiction, we know it is somewhat in jest.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say this evening pastime of national events is incongruous with the mindset I want for myself and that I need to corral that remote control by setting limits upon what networks it can access.   Yeah, that sounds like a winning course of action.  Honestly, an intelligent, reasonable, well-grounded man cannot possibly be ‘addicted’ to TV……can he?

I have a great start to this day.  Upon awakening I hugged the sleeping cat aside me, I brewed my first cup of coffee, I dwelled upon the dawning day, and then set a course for honoring the master of my life.  Meditation, yoga and a light workout got my lungs breathing and heart pumping.  I have a few chores for this afternoon and a list of options for this evening….baseball, a book to read, maybe a classic movie.  Please wish me luck as I battle my latest affliction and try not to weaken by 7PM.  It’s a great day at my house and in my mind!  How about you?

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – yes, I can

Whether I say I can or say I can’t, either way I will probably be right.

cropped-curve-dark-dawn-327316.jpgThink about those words.  They are saying to us that the choice is ours.  Yes, I can; no, I can’t.  What is your choice going to be?  

Too often we give that decision-making to others.  As children, we heard parents say numerous times, “you can’t do that.”

Usually that instruction was in our best interests, a warning about pending danger or a word of advice garnered from experience.  We knew our parents loved us and would not betray our trust.  Then, as we matured, the natural response was any action which opposed authority.  Dad can’t tell me what to do, my teacher can’t make me do it, my preacher can’t tell me what’s right or what’s wrong.  It was a healthy, self-discovery process which wet our feet in the world of hard knocks and errors.  And we survived, did we not?

Parents no longer direct your life.  Educators and preachers have given you a means of earning a living and a moral compass by which to live.  So, you are well equipped to face life on life’s terms, right?  You are confident in your decisions, right?  You do not doubt your own intuition and rational thinking, right?  You know that who you are today is as perfect as you can be today, you are worthy, right?  You can do anything which you set your mind to doing, right?

Any ‘no’ answers to the above dialog are wrong.  ‘I can’t’ is unacceptable because today, in this moment, I have the tools within to accomplish anything I attempt.  No, we’re not talking about physical feats, performing miracles, climbing Mt. Everest, or entering a marathon.  My body, not my mind, tells me ‘no’ to those endeavors.

Recently, after years of jogging and hiking, my knees and hip said, “No more.”   X-rays indicated that age, wear and tear had deteriorated those joints to a painful reminder with every movement.  “I can’t,” was my mantra for about 6 months accompanied by serious depression and stress.  At age 71, I was ready for the transition to the next phase.  That, however, was not what happened.

In a motivation video on YouTube, the voice speaking said, “Don’t lament what you can no longer do; rather, focus on what you can do.”

Really?  That was the jumpstart necessary to regroup and redefine who Larry is.  Not a jogger, not a hiker, not even a brisk walker.  Instead, this body discovered yoga, isometric exercises, low impact aerobic workouts that it could do.  Our minds can carry us over any hurdles when we allow the ‘can do’ attitude to direct us.  I can do this, you can too.  What will your answer be today?  “Yes, I can,” or “No, I can’t.”  It’s your choice.

When we say, “I can,” inner strength will provide the means to fulfill those determined words.  You and I were designed magnificently in the same image as all of creation.  We were intended to be survivors in a sometimes heartless world.  When we say, “I can’t”, we are admitting defeat without a battle and we are denying the divine strength within us.  The Lord of my life, the force which you trust as a greater power whether you name it God, Allah, the One, Brahman or Higher Power will honor the words, “Yes, I can.”

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IT’S A GREAT DAY!- don’t argue

Silence the noise of others; listen to your own voice.

old codger

Did you hear that?  Should I repeat it?  Don’t give more credence to the thoughts and rhetoric of other people than you give to your own.  “To thine own self be true.”  Polonius speaking to his son Laertes in Hamlet has been interpreted by many to mean many things.  But, let’s just keep it simple.  You and I have each an internal dialog that speaks from a place of experience, of guidance, of direction, of inspiration which often is amazingly ‘other-directed’ arising from the wisdom of the cosmos dwelling in our inner sanctum.  Call it soul, call it God, call it Spirit, call it a higher power.  It is ours and it is unique to each one of us according to the gifts blessing our lives.

So, why would anyone not listen to his or her inner voice?  Have you ever said any of the following?  “That man is better educated than I am, therefore he is more intelligent.  She is a psychiatrist, therefore she has deeper insight.  He is a preacher with a Doctor of Divinity behind his name, therefore he is more spiritual.  He’s my father, he knows better.  She’s my mother, she wouldn’t misguide me.  They are high school counselors, they know what is my best course of education.”

Just stop!  Stop it!  They all may be wonderful people, but only you know what speaks from your heart.  Some of them are not wonderful people, they are playing the control game for  selfish reasons.  Don’t allow others to call your shots.  This is your life and it’s your choice what you will do with that life.  Choice is life’s golden ticket.  Don’t give that ticket to someone else.

When you wake up in the morning, after you have said ‘thank-you’ for this day and this opportunity to breathe air into your lungs and pump blood through your body, after you have stretched your legs and arms, after you have smiled at your spouse or cat or dog lying beside you, get up and rejoice.  Rejoice over the opportunities ahead of you to be fully involved in an active and productive day plan with household projects or with your job.  Or rejoice exceedingly as you anticipate with zeal the coming day of rest and relaxation.  Maybe it will be a day at the beach, or a hike in the woods, or a shopping trip with the grandkids, or a special lunch with a dear friend.  Embrace it!  Cherish it!  You are a miraculous treasure brimming with options.

I can hear some of you saying, “Oh, zip it , Larry.  Life sucks.”

Maybe it does.  Loss of loved ones, physical ailments, poverty, social injustice, hatred, intolerance, prejudice, divorce, injuries remind us every day that this is not a Pollyanna world.  Stuff happens.  But, all that turmoil is processed by the same mind which also says that you are special and you are worthy of goodness and mercy.  You can walk the path of life with an overflowing cup.  You can rest in green pastures by still waters.  Or you can wallow in the mire with creepy, crawly things.  Again, it’s your choice which scenario you decide to internalize.  Don’t sell out to negative circumstances which are predominantly beyond your control while diminishing the spectacular essence within. Listen to this internal voice which  you have proven as truth through experience and reasoning that tells you, “Wow, I am going to have a great day.”

It’s not easy staying out of the pits.  Visit a grumpy neighbor, watch the national headlines on TV, look at your overdue electric bill. I understand because I have been there, I sometimes visit there even today.  Life has to be a daily, if not hourly, surrender to that inner voice telling me that, contrary to my negative thoughts, I can enjoy a perfect day because for this moment at this time I am a perfect version of me.  I hope to evolve and enlighten with each tomorrow, but for this moment in life I have everything I need within me to live a day far beyond my greatest expectations.  Believe it absolutely with heart, mind, and soul.  It will happen.  Guaranteed! Today’s another great day.

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – limbo rock

Here’s a quirky flashback from an era which many of us remember as care-free and exciting.  Chubby Checker’s words, “Jack be limbo, Jack be quick.  Jack go unda limbo stick…..how low can you go?” (1)

limbo rockThose years were great times.  Were we hopelessly naïve or simply enthusiastic about life?  Today, in our maturity, the harshness of the world, the deception of politicians, the betrayal of friends, the cruelty of man to man has a way of mellowing idealistic youth.  We somehow came to realize that the things happening around us are mostly beyond our control.

How low can you go?  How low will you go before you take charge of your life and remind yourself, “I don’t need to find the bottom anymore.  I don’t need to go there.  I have a choice today about my life.  This morning, right now, I will set my day’s course.  I can wallow in my gloom or I can bathe in the rising sun.  I can listen to the internal self-condemning dialog or I can enjoy the serenade of awakening birds.  It’s my choice today.  I don’t need to see how low I can go.”

You are a worthy child of this universal presence which flows through all of creation.  So am I.  We are functioning, breathing, blood-pumping organisms designed to be spectacular.  Hold that thought for just a moment.  You, just as you are, are perfect right now.  Not tomorrow, not next year, not when you die – no, you are perfect today in this very moment.  It may be difficult at first, but repeat it over and over and over until you truly believe it.  This doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels and not aspire to grow into better versions of who we are.  Our goal is always to evolve and enlighten into the creatures which we have been designed to be.  So, today, right now in this moment, stop stooping to see how low you can go.

Stretch those arms high, open your hands to receive the blessings which have been intended for you.  Look into the cosmos and find your home, your joy and peace.  That eternal inheritance is there waiting for you to claim it.  Right here, right now, grab what has been yours all along.  It’s a great day.

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(1) LIMBO ROCK

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – ‘individuated’

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“The second half of life presents a rich possibility for spiritual enlargement, for we are never going to have greater powers of choice, never have more lessons of history from which to learn, and never possess more emotional resilience, more insight into what works for us and what does not, or a deeper, sometimes more desperate, conviction of the importance of getting our life back….” (1)

richard rohrRichard Rohr nails it, my friends.  We now have experience on our side, emotional maturity, insight and conviction.  Taking our life back from the clutches of family, friends, clergy, co-workers, tribe, and ego is the end result of becoming what the supreme universal energy has intended for us from the beginning.  It is a concept presented by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung as individuation – not self-indulgence or individualism, rather surrender of our ego’s agenda of security and emotional reinforcement in favor of humbling service to the soul’s intent.

Do you know what the soul’s intent is?  Do I?  Some could say, “Yes, of course.  My faith, my theology, my religion has taught me everything I need to know about soul.”

Really?  Then you would also know that your soul’s intent is for you to have a meaningful experience today and every day for the rest of your life.  Yes, the dark valleys will appear, the depression will knock, the sorrows will challenge, but any day in which you have awakened to the miracle of life and expressed appreciation to the God named according to your faith walk, is a great day.  Even darkness must give way to light, life’s uncertain vagaries will be overcome by understanding, and inconceivable circumstances will bow to positive action. “This too shall pass” is not just a cliche.  It is truth.  Claim it as yours.

Take control each morning of the day’s mindset before engaging in whatever activity you need to accomplish.  Don’t just roll the dice taking chances with the day’s outcome; instead, direct your mind upon arising to positive thoughts and a realization that what occurs in the first moments of wakefulness will set the tone for the entire day.  Envision yourself as being victorious over all difficulties and celebratory in all accomplishments.  See yourself handling confrontation with family and co-workers effectively and it will happen.  Picture yourself enjoying your day on the beach and it will happen.  Feel the satisfaction of finishing the household project awaiting and it will happen.  What you project onto the day’s activity will prevail.

Meditation, motivational videos, yoga, light exercise, inspirational reading are all great ways to start a great day.  Those few minutes or hours are an investment in successful living as a joyful, contented child of that eternal, universal force flowing throughout the entirety of creation.  Grab onto this power by creating your day rather than enduring it.  Believe unabashedly that the choice is yours.  You and I can make it the day we want.  We can also make it the day we don’t want.  What a realization!  We are powerful and dynamic forces in our worlds.  Have a great day!

(1) CAC.ORG

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – dice roll

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So, you’re a gambler?  How often do you win?  Excites you, doesn’t it?  The thrill of the bet, the risk-taking, the ecstasy of a win, the personal satisfaction in knowing you have beaten the odds.  Ok, good for you.

How often do you lose? How much? A lot?  Really?  Sounds like you might be losing more than you win.  Yeah, I know it’s just entertainment; after all, you’re not addicted, right?

Do you gamble with your life?  A risk-taker?  Do you jump out in front of moving traffic?  Do you play Russian roulette with your friends?  How about unprotected sex?  It’s just gambling, right?

Life is more than just a roll of the dice.  When you wake up in the morning, rolling those blocks of chance, giving the day’s promises to Lady Luck is going to guarantee one of three outcomes.  You will either win or you will lose or the day will wind up a wash-out. That’s just 1 in 3 chances of having a great day.

Try this instead.  Open your eyes, look around the room, appreciate the bed in which you slept comfortably,  and let the first words out of your mouth be a sincere “Thank you.  I am so greatly blessed.”

Monkey brain will attempt to engage.  Will you allow it?  Got to clean the bathroom, must call the pharmacy, need to get groceries, Johnny needs a clean shirt, the cat has fleas, North Korea is going to bomb us, the world is ending, I’ve got to vacuum the rugs…..”oh Lord I’m so weary already!”

STOP!  Don’t let monkey brain begin your day.  Instead, breathe in.  Air is rushing over your lungs, aerating the blood, pumping fresh life into your organs, bringing life to limbs.  Wiggle those toes, shake out the cramps from sleeping on your arm, wipe the sleepies from you eyes, hold that breath and then…..exhale.  Release the thoughts trying to capture your thinking, inhale again.  Exhale, inhale, exhale.  Envision your body parts waking up to a great new day.  Breathe in, then breathe out.

Now, you are ready to swing those legs out over the bed and rise to greet this day ahead of you.  Are you going to roll the dice?  No, of course not.  You will make this the best day ever, the beginning of the rest of your life.  Imagine how you want to enjoy today.  Have a cup of coffee or tea on the patio listening to the melody of songbirds in the nearby oak trees.  Watch the mother duck leading her hatchlings to the pond.  Become amazed by the roses sharing their aroma in the morning air.  Are you feeling it yet?  Life is wonderful and a great day lies ahead.

Of course, if you would rather roll your dice, go for it.  Read the morning headlines, turn up the volume of the TV.  Fuss at Johnny for not putting his dirty shirt in the laundry.  Scold the cat for being a cruise ship for fleas.  Yell at your spouse for being such a slob in the bathroom.  It’s your choice.  Roll the dice and hope for the best or give the day a fighting chance to be terrific by waking up to the splendor that surrounds your life.

Wasn’t it Erma Bombeck who wrote, “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?”  And remember what Confucius said?   “When life gives you a bunch of lemons, make lemonade.”

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – just don’t

You are not the product of your circumstances.  You are the product of your decisions.  Steven Covey

old codger

 

Today’s words are especially for the senior crowd shared by one who is duly qualified to pontificate.  Following are five DON’Ts that will create harmony and bliss in our final season of life.

DON’T – believe any of the hullabaloo about the ‘golden years’ because the only golden element of these years is increased incontinence and dribble.

DON’T – believe that your social security check will increase your sense of security.  There is no security in the senior years.  We can have contentment and peace, but nothing will guarantee security.

DON’T – believe that the younger generation will venerate your wisdom and experience.  That’s a lie from hell designed to cast scales over our eyes as the young-uns put us in nursing homes.

Okay, okay, okay.  Perhaps a wee bit too much cynicism and sarcasm?  But, here are words you can take to the bank.

DON’T – allow your life to reach its final earthly transition believing this existence has defeated you.

DON’T – forget in whose image you have been created, that the trials and tribulations were mere learning lessons, that what others point out as failures in you were actually steps to a higher realization of your innate perfection.  That force of nature which knew and understood you before you were conceived has not deserted you.  It would never allow you to be defeated.  No! Never!

You have always been one with the One.  Call it Higher Power, call it God, name it Allah or Krishna, or refer to it as the Supreme Being.  You are now and always have been a product of divine intervention.  Your life has not been a failure doomed to defeat.  If you think that is true, then you are also calling the God of your life a miserable failure.  Just don’t go there because

we are not products of our circumstances, we are products of our decisions

You, senior citizen, get up out of bed today and smile with a ‘thank you’ on your lips for another day to excel in living life.  Tell yourself how wonderful you are and that you are very special in the eyes of the force which makes the earth rotate, the sun shine, and the stars twinkle.  Accept that perhaps today you cannot do the things that your younger self did, but you can do amazing new and exciting things.  The world is open to your ingenuity and experience and wisdom.  Don’t sell yourself short on your amazing, innate ability to not only survive, but thrive.

Defeat is for wimps.  Surviving the senior years with physical pains and financial insecurities is just another stepping stone to becoming the perfection intended for us.  Look up, lift those hands to the sky and receive another day to be functional, grateful, and integral in your world.  Old age is not for wimps and we were not created to go down in defeat.

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – Ilia Delio

We must consciously evolve; we must orient our being toward new life and growth because the unity that we really are, the deep connective tissue of oneness, will not let us rest with separateness. Ilia Delio

(Ilia Delio is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC, and American theologian specializing in the area of science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics, and neuroscience and the import of these for theology. Ilia Delio)

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We cannot allow the insanity in the world to alter our destiny, our inherent design.  Ancient literature reinforces the truth that we are made in miraculous fashion following the pattern of the Maker.  We are the image of that very same energy which permeates every being, every creature, every organism on earth.  We are cosmic, we are universal, we are filled with the same intentional love and compassion that originally designed mankind in the beginning.  We are one with the One.

Wake up this morning to those fantastic truths.  Don’t deny your heritage.  Don’t slight your innate divinity.  Grab this new day with gusto and live as if you are loved more than anything on this earth.  Love yourself unconditionally and magnificently.  Look into your reflection and repeat the words, “I am worthy, I am wonderful, I am deserving of the best life imaginable.”

And then, go do it.  Make today the beginning of a new you, one never imagined before in your wildest dreams.  Chase after your dream and claim it for yourself.  Nobody can stop you unless you give them the power to do so.  Don’t squander what God has instilled in you.  In this mystery of earthly existence, the ignorance of the world will challenge your peace of mind, your integrity of soul, and your resolve to rise above the insanity.  But you have the power to say, “No!  I will not accept this in my life.  Stop!”

We will pass through valleys of darkness which we do not understand.  Hatred, intolerance, unfathomable violence will stand before us in attempts to make us doubt our heritage and destiny, that we are not very special at all.  It’s a lie.  It is not the pattern by which we were eternally designed.

We must fix our eyes on the future, on forging new relationships of love that include the earth, all peoples, all religions, all planets and all galaxies. Ilia Delio

This new day has your name on it.  Claim it and make it yours.  Love yourself in all your activity, accept yourself as perfect in this moment, know without doubt that the eyes in the mirror are filled to capacity with insight.  Trust that you will create a great day, that wonderful things will fill your day, that you will infect others with joy and peace.  It is going to be a blockbuster day.smiley 3

 

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – violence & hatred

Open your hearts and minds to the spectacular day which has been designed just for you.  Stretch, breathe, smile, say, “Thank you.”

cropped-p10100031.jpgDon’t check the phone for messages.  Don’t turn on the noise from the multiple media sources.  Don’t read the front page headlines.  Don’t do any of those things until you have spent the beginning hours of this new day processing the beauty of life, the wonder of  earth, the amazing complexity of mankind’s mind, the indescribable energy behind every function, every organism, and every creature of earth.  Just don’t!  Stop the monkey brain thoughts that clutter up this morning’s spectacular appearance over the horizon.  Look at that sun creeping into the eastern sky.  Be fascinated by its timely routine each and every day of this existence.  Soak it in!

If that sun could talk, what would it say about mankind?  What would it tell about the recent violence in New Zealand?  Would it take sides, find blame?  No, of course not.  The sun cannot do that because it is merely the sun.  Powerful and brilliant, yet unable to alter its course or its purpose.  It shines upon and warms all of humanity regardless of race and creed.  The sun has no choice but to do what it was put in the heavens to do.

You are more powerful than the sun, the stars, the oceans because you can choose what you will do today, where you will go, when you will eat, whom you will speak to.  On this day, in this moment, you can choose thoughts that nourish your inner strength or thoughts that defeat your indwelling peace.  You can align with rhetoric which speaks your kindness through truth or rhetoric which exposes your inner demons.  You can choose actions which honor a Higher Presence or actions which debase the soul.  You can do all this because you have the power of choice.

When you accept your one-way ticket into eternity, life will change.  The love and compassion you accept for yourself will also be freely available to others through you.  There will be no room for hatred and intolerance because a freed heart cannot harbor bigotry.  The demons which drove the mass murderers in New Zealand, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Paris or London will be unable to exist in the presence of a heart filled with understanding and love.  It is your choice today to be whom you want to be.

This power of choice is life’s golden ticket.  Today, in this moment, whom you will be is one of your choices.  Look at that reflection in the mirror, gaze into those beautiful eyes and tell yourself, “You are worthy.  You are loved.  You are a child of immense significance with infinite potential.  I love you.”

Decide today to love yourself more than any other creature can possibly love you.  You will not be disappointed or betrayed.  Greet the morning sky with outstretched hands facing upward to receive the blessings of a new day.  It will be a great day!

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IT’S A GREAT DAY! – a gift for you

and it’s yours for the taking
Picture40Nobody else can have your day.  Only you can embrace it.  Look today’s you in the face and say, “You are wonderful,  I love you.”

So, what will you do with your day?  Welcome it?  Cherish it?  Live it minute by minute?  Enjoy it?  Love it?  Make it the 1st day of the rest of your life?  Or maybe you will make today the best day ever.

The options are breath-taking.  Wake up and greet the sun or sit on your porch and watch the raindrops dancing in the backyard puddles.  Pull on those sneakers and sweats for a jog around the neighborhood or savor a cup of coffee as you read a few verses of poetry.  Greet your spouse with a hug and smile or pull the cat onto your lap and listen to the serenade of purring?  It’s your day – what are you going to do with it?

The choices are yours!  Not everybody has a choice.  The ability to choose is life’s golden ticket.  It is the passport to enduring contentment and joy.  There was a time, for many of us, picking up a drug or a drink was not optional.  We had to do it.  That substance controlled every moment of the day.  Planning for it, anticipating it, relishing the 1st one of the day was routine behavior.  Many “normals” considered us morally weak and socially depraved, usually we agreed.  Drinking and drugging was not a choice we enjoyed.  It was a disease which opened each day with regret and led us into thoughts and behaviors which disgusted us.  But, we had no choice.  Finally a reprieve was offered.

Today, as you swing your legs out of bed, thank your Higher Power that this morning is different.  This new day has infinite possibilities.  Look at yourself in your mirror, gaze into your eyes and bathe in the realization that you are a wonderful creation with unlimited potential.  You are perfect and worthy just as you are.  That universal energy, which some call Higher Power, God, Allah, the One, would not have it any other way.  Bathe in the reflection of a man/woman who is loved by an indescribable and undefinable, omnipotent and compassionate essence which surges through every creature and every organism of this earth.  Take it in, stop for a minute and think about this moment.  You are loved beyond human comprehension.

Today is yours.  Don’t waste it dragging in baggage from yesterday’s mistakes.  Don’t squander today’s precious hours worrying about tomorrow’s problems.  If you are here, now, reading these words, then you have been given another chance to do more than just survive.  It is your destiny to thrive.  Smile at the sunrise, embrace the fresh morning air, raise your hands up to welcome the limitless universe into your day.  It’s a great day and it belongs to you.
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