eleven eleven o'seven

"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."

--Albert Einstein

When I read that quote today, it reminded me of the third step prayer:

"God, I offer myself to Thee - to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"

--Big Book, p. 63

Living outside of self ... It's been difficult to do that lately, because I haven't been getting my way.

People don't treat me the way I think they should. Things don't go according to plan. I fall short of my own expectations. I'm afraid to be honest with my feelings. Uncertainty is stressful. The environment at work is demoralizing.

Yeah, other people are experiencing problems too. But what about me? That attitude is selfish and conceited ... but honest. It's the "bondage of self".

And I'm told that when I feel this way, I need to pray and get outside of self ... that is when a person starts to live.

science? religion?

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

-Albert Einstein

Just an interesting thought ...

cause & effect

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.

- Frank Tibolt

Be Careful ...

He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

-Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146

Neat-o Quote

I read this quote attributed to Albert Einstein this morning and thought it sounded applicable to Step 2:

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.

- Albert Einstein

Pretty cool to be coming from such a smart guy, eh? :)

Today is starting out to be a good day. I'm trying to remember "First Things First" -- I'm using that as a reminder to read a devotional and pray every morning. Those things should come first every day. They seem to be a good way to start the day :)

The Anger/Happiness Exchange

"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Live in the Spirit of Love

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.

--Henry Drummond

Enlarge the Future

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."

--Paul Boese

How true that is ...

Be Done With It

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Listen to Your Whisper

"None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Look Fear in the Face

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Begin Where You Are

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was."

-Richard L. Evans

Keep Me Out of Your Way

Lord, take me where You want me to go;
Let me meet who You want me to meet;
Tell me what You want me to say; and
Keep me out of your way.

- Father Mychal Judge
FDNY, killed 9/11/01

The Lesson Afterward

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward."

-Vernon Law

Tomorrow's Dreams

"Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams."

-Unknown

Worry

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."

-Unknown

Problem Solving

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

- Albert Einstein

Life Explained

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."

-Mark Twain

The Cause

"The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities."

-Sophocles

... and how we allowed our adversities to hurt others ...

A Matter of Perception

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is."

-Albert Einstein

Hey -- he was a smart guy.
He's probably right!

We always find what we look for ...