Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly --Langston Hughes
Watching birds spread their wings and soar can remind us of the best in ourselves. In joyful moments we all feel our own desire to fly, to reach toward what we dream of doing.
Our dreams give us a direction to fly. Birds fly toward the light for joy, toward green leaves for shelter, to water and berries for food. In the same way, our dreams direct us to the course of our own joy, shelter, and nourishment.
Sometimes as we fly, we bump into disappointments. They may temporarily stun us or slow us down. But just like birds that are occasionally wounded, we can heal ourselves and fly again. We can choose to not let the hardships of life break our spirited wings. Rather, we can keep spreading our wings, soaring in the spirit of joy.
Am I flying today, or must I heal a wound first?
A life without discipline is a life without joy. - Muriel B.
Wait a minute. Isn't joy a matter of doing what we want? Isn't freedom the state of never having to do what we don't want to do? And isn't discipline - which we learned from our parents - the burden of having to do what we don't want to do?
Actually, joy is the freedom to do what needs to be done. And gaining that freedom takes discipline. Why? Without discipline, we usually end up doing what is familiar to us. And our experience clearly tells us that old thinking and old behaviors bring us anything but joy.
It takes discipline to say no when we need to - when every fiber of our being may be urging us to give in again. It takes discipline to stand up and be counted when our pattern has been to fade into the wallpaper and blend in with any situation.
Discipline isn't easy or fun, but it's the best friend we can have. To practice self-discipline is to move through our days with a sure sense that we'll get where we're going.
Today I will remember that self-discipline is in myself.
It took some time in Recovery, to understand that decipline was the very best way to take care of ourselves. Sure did not know that when I was drinking, hated the word.
I think of Dicipline now with the word Nurturing, they go hand in hand. When I am doing something that is not my favorite thing to do, like a lot of built up paperwork, I no longer get real stressed over it, (o.k. maybe just a little, old thinking creeps in) I do it because of the reward that comes from doing a decipline, that is nescessary for my inner well being.
As far as Dreams go, I like to have some future far off thing to attain, with work, but for me, I prefer to allow the dream to stay in the day I am in. To be the best person I can be, to give anytime I am asked, with eagerness, and being honored wth the Request. Ask my Higher Power to show me how to keep improving my life, my thoughts, how I Pray.
I spent my life in a Dream world, never got me anywhere. So I just found a little bit of resistance to that word, a personal thing, for sure.
Good to see you my friend, write when you can, and let me know how the vacation went, and how things are going with relatives on the Home front.
