Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (50 page)

N
OVEMBER
30

H
appiness is an inside job. It comes from within me–something that I express and share. And contrary to what I learned through most of my life, its presence is not dependent on things “out there.”

So, as I learn to take full responsibility for the way I feel about, and react to, people and situations, I begin to consciously create my life experiences. In the process, I come to understand that in order for me to be happy no one has to behave himself, nothing has to go “right,” and no one has to love me–except me.

Jeff McFarland

People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Abraham Lincoln

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
1

R
ecovery is not about getting well, it is about getting real. When I was active in my disease I couldn’t tell real from unreal. I was constantly swayed by lies, a void of truth within myself. When I pay attention to what I feel, what I perceive, what I know deep in my gut, I value my own being and I find that I can no longer be fooled. Here lies my strength. Here lies my freedom. I step confidently into my life.

Anna Joy Grace

Courage is the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality.

C.S. Lewis

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
2

S
trength
: noun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . spreading hope where there is doubt, love where there is hate, standing through trials, working through pain, getting up when you fall down, spreading joy where there is grief, and forgiving where forgiveness is absent.

Sarah Boesing

Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible–not to have run away.

Dag Hammarskjold

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
3

P
ush yourself like a machine and you will eventually run low on energy. Love your mind by allowing it spaces of silence and it will serve you tirelessly. Notice how your senses are connected to your mind. Anything negative they pick up or generate will disturb the mind’s workings. To maintain peace of mind, use your eyes, ears and mouths with care.

Brahma Kumaris
World Spiritual University

Rather than become a judge of others, become an advocate of their dreams.

Brahma Kumaris

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
4

I
was sitting in a meeting at a very low point in my life, not knowing where to turn. Despair occupied every fiber of my being when the room suddenly disappeared and I was floating in an all-encompassing white light. There was no fear, no sadness, only unconditional love flowing around and through me. Then a voice that was an incredibly comforting presence told me to take what I needed. I had no idea what that might be but I knew I would find it. When the room came back into focus I was left with a tiny speck of that white light in my heart and the word “hope” in my mind and soul.

Anne Tiller Slates

Hope can be miraculous!

Michael Jordan Segal

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
5

W
e as human beings are all in the same boat and are all on the same journey we know as life. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could join hands in this journey and help each other through the struggles and challenges and together as a whole enjoy our successes?

Reach out your hand today and experience the peace and ecstasy of uniting with the human race as we collectively live together and help one another. The essence of spirituality is our connection with the world around us.

Richard Singer

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now.

Stephen Grellet

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
6

T
here are strangers who live around me. People I work with every day. Neighbors who sleep each night in houses close by. A grandmother. My own children. What do they think? How do they feel? We live side by side but we know so little about each other. It’s time to look into the eyes of human beings who mow the lawn, use the office coffee pot or who sit on the other side of our own supper table. There is no greater tragedy than to live next to the treasure of another soul and never even look inside.

Renee Hixson

Life is too great of an adventure to live it indecisively. I’d rather step out in faith, take a risk and make a decision.

Renee Hixson

Footnotes for Life

D
ECEMBER
7

A
s a child, I was sometimes ignored–even abused. It was too risky to show myself to the world so I hid my true self and found safety–refuge in invisibility. Now as an adult, I’ve discovered that too often I am invisible to myself. I ignore my needs, deny my emotions and I don’t risk showing people who I really am. If I come out of hiding I can participate fully in life without fear of punishment or other negative consequences. I no longer have to be a victim of my biography.