MIXED BAGGAGE

[MajestyJo]

"We were trapped by our need for the instant gratification that drugs gave us."

Basic Text, pp.24-25

This was brought home to me when I quit smoking. I tried using Zyban and I took the pill and my immediate thought was, "Well I took the pill, why do I still want a cigarette." When I realized that the stinking thinking went with the pill, I quit taking them and ended up giving them to someone who wanted to quit. They worked for him. Unfortunately, he didn't stay clean and sober, a few months later, he chose to go back out.

I want it now, if not yesterday! How easy it is for that old thinking to come back. The nice thing is that I am able to recognize it for what it is and change it. I used the program and didn't substitute with food or use pill maintenance. I lost three pounds. Mind you, later when I didn't have the cigarettes to stuff the emotions, I did on occasion use food only to fight a new battle.

It was a real awakening for me to become aware of the fact that I could pray for the willingness to be willing. It applies to so many areas of my life. The Twelve Steps helped me quit smoking, helps me with my eating disorder and my chronic pain. It may not seem like it has helped with my computer addiction and yet my mental and emotional state is so much better and I do not obsess like I use to. I think I am more addicted to web sites and building them than the computer. It is just a means to get me to where I want to go.

[MajestyJo]

Sunshine And Music



A laugh is just like sunshine
It freshens all the day,
It tips the peak of life with light,
And drives the clouds away.
The soul grows glad that hears it
And feels its courage strong.
A laugh is just like sunshine
For cheering folks along.

A laugh is just like music.
It lingers in the heart,
And where its melody is heard
The ills of life depart;
Happy thoughts come crowding
Its joyful notes to greet-
A laugh is just like music
For making living sweet.

- Author Unknown

[MajestyJo]

There are two days in every week
about which we should not worry,
Two days which should be kept free of fear and apprehension.

One of these days is YESTERDAY,
With its mistakes and cares,
Its faults and blunders,
Its aches and pains.
YESTERDAY has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back YESTERDAY.
We cannot undo a single act we performed;
We cannot erase a single word we said.
YESTERDAY is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW
With its possible adversities, its burdens, its larger promise.
TOMORROW is also beyond our immediate control.

TOMORROW, the sun will rise,
Either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds,
But it will rise.
Until it does, we have no stake in TOMORROW
For it is as yet unborn.

This leaves only one day - TODAY.
Any man can fight the battles of just one day.
It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities
- YESTERDAY and TOMORROW -
That we break down.

It is not the experience of TODAY that drives men mad.
It is remorse or bitterness for something which happened YESTERDAY
And the dread of what TOMORROW may bring.

Let us, therefore, live but ONE day at a time.

Author Unknown

We all feel down sometimes;
Like the pressures of the world are closing in on us.
Once in awhile, we need to be reminded...
That everyone in the world suffers
from the heartbreaks and disillusions of life...
Pass this poem on to someone you care about;
Let them know that you share their hurts,
And that they're not alone.

Living for today/Living in the past, worrying about the future

Have been thinking recently how much I stay in today and don't visit the past unless it is to share with someone or to write a post about what it was like, what happened and what it is like in today, like the Big Book tells me to do.

I will not shut the door on the past, it is often something I can look at and see how far I have come in today and/or see how I have slipped back into an old behavior which has become too comfortable again, and I need to change it. Even things learned in recovery, often need changing or upgraded.

I know that on occasions like the holidays, I projected into the future and put myself into a depression. Thanks to the program, the road looks clear, I am back on track and staying in today when I pick up the tools of recovery.

It always amazes me how fast time can go by. I can look at this month and think, gee 11 days have gone by, where did they go; or gee there are only 20 more days in April; and/or just enjoy today for what it can bring me.

When I am open, good things happen. They may be small to others, but often they are huge to me. Don't you just love those moments that make you go "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

[MajestyJo]

THINK on THESE THINGS

by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Texture is that finely woven fabric of life that demands we have a congenial environment. It asks that we be industrious toward success, and that we should have a way of life, a purpose. We should hear the music of life and taste the bitter and the sweet.

Texture requires us to research every experience and learn the lessons in it. It orders us to communicate with life and make discoveries about ourselves and progress toward a texture where the coarse has been refined.

Frequently we should examine the texture of life to identify the quality. How wide is my world? How high is my sky?

All of us should know our own makeup, our capabilities, our gifts with which we have been divinely endowed. And we should think long on these words from Edna St. Vincent Millay's Renascence:

"The world stands out on either side no wider than the heart is wide. Above the world is stretched the sky, no higher than the soul is high."

[MajestyJo]

Thoughts Of You



Hidden Beauty
~
Like a thorny cactus
hidden in the desert grass
delighting us with the beauty
of its sudden bloom ...

Your precious smile
adds a touch of class
lighting up even
the darkest room!

[MajestyJo]

http://www.listentooldmusic.com/music_from_1965.htm

Look at the good things of the past, don`t focus on the negative. It is gone and you can`t change it, but you can allow yourself to heal from it.

[MajestyJo]

I Love You



I Love You because ...
whenever you smile
it really lights up your face,
Because your laughter
fills up a room
and makes it a happier place.
I Love You because
you hug me real tight
and tell me you love me, too.
I Love You because
there's nobody else
in the whole wide world
like YOU!

[MajestyJo]

MONDAY'S GREETING: APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PROGRAM TO YOUR LIFE, SHARE WITH OTHER'S NOT JUST PEOPLE IN THE FELLOWSHIP, BUT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.



...WHETHER IT IS PEACE AND QUIET OR BUSY AS A BEAVER!



HUGS, LOVE, KISSES, AND SMILES:

[MajestyJo]

TUESDAY'S GREETING: FRIENDS ARE THERE FOR YOU, THEY COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.






DON'T BE SAD, DON'T BE BLUE, THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.


HUGS, LOVE, KISSES, AND SMILES:




THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The Light is all the might you need to successfully turn away any dark inner visitor.

Your true wish to understand a negative state initiates the entrance of that specialized Light you need to make this same wish come true.

We suffer what we do, as we do, only through our unconscious consent, so the first step in freeing ourselves from unseen sorrow is to deliberately bring ourselves into conscious awareness of its dark presence within us.

[MajestyJo]

Special Wishes For You



When you're lonely
I pray you feel God's love.
When you're down
I pray God gives you joy.
When you're troubled
I pray you know God's peace.
When things are complicated
I pray you find simple beauty.
When things are chaotic
I pray you are given inner silence.
When things look empty
I pray you know hope in Jesus.

~ Author Unknown ~

[MajestyJo]

Learn To Fly, Like A Butterfly



The air is full of butterflies.
Flying so effortlessly in the sky.
No weight they carry, to hold them down.
Never a worry or a frown.

And yet not long ago, they were...
A crawling little... caterpillar.
I wonder if they knew they'd be...
A beautifully butterfly, flying so free.

They do not question how long they'll live...
But are happy with each day God gives.
They trust that he will always provide,
whatever they need...to survive.

So learn to trust...and fly away,
from cares and worries of today.
See how beautiful life can be...
Rely on Jesus, to supply your needs.
By: Valerie Bauer Rousseau

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned,
in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content...But
my God shall supply all your needs according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Phil. 4:11 & 19 KJV

[MajestyJo]

Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the realities and verities of existence.
The bliss of growth, the splendor of action, the glory of power.
And yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision.
But today - well lived - makes every yesterday
a dream of happiness,
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.

- unknown to me

[MajestyJo]

One Caring Smile



Everything's gone
wrong today.
No one reacts to
anything you say.

No matter how much
you scream and cry,
the world seems to
be passing you by.

No one seems to notice or care,
that you are trying to be heard
over your despair.

But on one face a
smile shines through,
a smile that knows
and cares about you.

A smile with love to lend,
on a face you recognize
as a friend!

Original Source Unknown

Posted on my site The Gathering of Eagles

[MajestyJo]

My forst web site: Harmony and Peace

http://www.harmonyandpeace.i8.com/index.html


The Butterfly: http://www.harmonyandpeace.i8.com/butterfly1.html


Light and Love: http://www.harmonyandpeace.i8.com/light.html

Just Because: http://www.harmonyandpeace.i8.com/jb.html

...and more!

[MajestyJo]

This is cute and food for thought. The thing is, that I posted it on another site in 2003, think of the cost of living in today.

The Cost of Kids

I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice,really nice!

The government recently calculated the cost of
raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about
sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.
It translates into $8,896 year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.

What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights,--- First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God everyday.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks,ants,clouds,and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter
what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to fingerprint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disneyland, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts,and flowers under refrigerator magnets,hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter,filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology,nursing,criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a booboo,scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart,police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will,like you, love without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!
The Cost of Kids

Originally posted on "Why am I here on earth??
I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but
this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's
nice,really nice!

The government recently calculated the cost of
raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00
for a middle income family. Talk about
sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.
It translates into $8,896 year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week.
That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have
children if you want to be "rich." It is just the
opposite.

What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights,--- First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God everyday.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks,ants,clouds,and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles,
skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter
what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to fingerprint, carve pumpkins,
play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs,
and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and
Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going
to Disneyland, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts,and
flowers under refrigerator magnets,hand prints set in clay for
Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage
roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a
splinter,filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs,
and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated
to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step,
first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're
lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called
grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology,nursing,criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a booboo,scare away the monsters
under the bed, patch a broken heart,police a slumber party,
ground them forever, and love them without
limits, so one day they will,like you, love without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!