I am ready to grow today. Regardless of the kind of experience I'm having, I'll realize its worth to me.
—from A Woman's Spirit
MARCH 1
Judgment
I think everybody has to experience a certain amount of pain on the way to maturity.
—Ruth Casey
Our lives have been a series of lessons, many of them not particularly easy. It's generally the case that the ones we gained the most from were the hardest or the most tedious. Is pain always a requirement for growth? Hindsight may suggest that, but we need to realize that our willingness to grow or change, coupled with the faith that we were always in safe hands, could have made all of our transitions quite smooth. Nothing ever had to be as hard as some of us made it.
Attitude, along with faith, has always had a powerful impact on our perceptions of life. No two people have ever made identical observations of any situation. Needless to say, we all make a choice about how to interpret the varied circumstances in our life. So-called accidents of nature are seen as quite purposeful to some, while others are defeated by them. Physical ailments are accepted as opportunities for developing another dimension of one's life by those who prefer a positive outlook. Our freedom to interpret each experience as a lucky opportunity or as undeserved devastation has always existed and will never be taken from us. How have we managed that power so far?
Am I content with how my life has evolved? Where it goes today is in my power.
—from Keepers of the Wisdom
MARCH 2
Present moment
Today was like a shadow. It lurked behind me. It's now gone forever. Why is it that time is such a difficult thing to befriend?
—Mary Casey
Each passing minute is all that we are certain of having. The choice is ever present to relish the moment, reaping fully whatever its benefits, knowing that we are being given just what we need each day of our lives. We must not pass up what is offered today.
Time accompanies us like a friend, though often a friend denied or ignored. We can't recapture what was offered yesterday. It's gone. All that stands before us is here, now.
We can nurture the moment and know that the pain and pleasures offered us with each moment are our friends, the teachers our inner selves await. And we can be mindful that this time, this combination of events and people, won't come again. They are the gift of the present. We can be grateful.
We miss the opportunities the day offers because we don't recognize the experiences as the lesson designed for the next stage of our development. The moment's offerings are just, necessary, and friendly to our spiritual growth.
I will take today in my arms and love it. I will love all it offers; it is a friend bearing gifts galore.
—from Each Day a New Beginning
MARCH 3
Powerlessness
Accepting that we are powerless seems difficult at first.
We have felt responsible for so many people for so long that giving up our control scares us. What will they do? Perhaps the more important question is, what will we do? Where do we put our focus when we no longer put it on others?
We probably didn't understand the meaning or the value of the Serenity Prayer when we were first introduced to it. We had spent most of our lives forcing change, or at least trying to. Accepting conditions or the people we loved as they were was beyond our comprehension. After all, wouldn't they want to change if they could see themselves as we saw them?
Now we are coming to understand our powerlessness. The glimpses we get no longer scare us. Not being in charge of others anymore also means we are not to blame for their shortcomings. And that part of powerlessness we like.
I will enjoy my powerlessness today. “Giving up” the behavior of others will lighten my own load considerably.
—from A Life of My Own
MARCH 4
Purpose
We're not going to live forever, but I think we should have the attitude of “Why not?”
—Harry Bartholomew
Taking our focus off of the future and placing it instead on whatever presents itself today adds a richness to each moment that can't be measured or duplicated. Dwelling on our deaths or the ill health that might befall us leaves us no free time to laugh and learn from all the experiences that are presenting themselves. The end will come. Of that we can be sure, but why let thinking about it discolor every minute that remains between now and then?
Most of us have no idea what our real purpose has been in this life, in these bodies. It's quite freeing to give up the need to know why we're here. It's far more fascinating to simply acknowledge that we are here, and the friends and strangers who walk with us are all that matter minute by minute. Figuring out nothing more than this lets us give our total being over to whatever experience has called to us, as though it's all there ever was or ever will be. Nothing appears the same, from the past or the present, when we see it this way.
I have all the time I need to do whatever comes to me today.
—from Keepers of the Wisdom
MARCH 3
Controlling
Accepting powerlessness lightens our burdens.
Coming to believe that we are not responsible for solving anyone else's problems or making anyone else's decisions frees us to pursue our own dreams and aspirations with greater concentration. But it's not easy to give up our control of other people. It's how we thought we were supposed to live. Their burdens had become ours.
We surely have lots more time to take care of ourselves now that we have begun letting others be in charge of themselves. But we have to watch out for slipping back into our old controlling behaviors. Ingrained habits are hard to change. We have to learn how to savor the extra hours in our day now that we only have ourselves to control. As our accomplishments multiply, we'll find that letting others take care of themselves will be easier.
I am in charge of myself. What do I want to accomplish? I can begin right away.
—from A Life of My Own
MARCH 6
Procrastination
In soloing—as in other activities—it is far easier to start something than it is to finish it.
—Amelia Earhart
Procrastination plagues us all, at one time or another. But any activity that is worthy of our effort should be tackled by bits and pieces, one day at a time. We