“Maybe retirement is just the next phase to “re-try” life?”

“There’s nothing wrong with coming to meditation in order to quiet the mind; yet tthe mind screams, “Get busy; Manage; Control; it sends messages like “why me” and “I’m no good.” So just how do we let go? One method, practicing the Art of Zazen, eventually leads to expanded awareness, both of our own body and of the entire universe. We discover we are capable of reaching through any blockage. There’s an expanse of freedom outside the door of the mind. It’s your life. No one can do this for you. Your teacher can set you in a particular direction, but you have to go on the path alone. If you decide to do zazen every day, then do it every day; if once a week, do it once a week! Try sitting at the same time every day; allow it to form a consistent rhythm in your life. It is just one step at a time, one moment at a time into freedom.”

Adapted from Turn Your Light Within

Practicing the 12 Steps of recovery, I discovered that most of my decisions were based on fear. Alcohol made life easier to face; but the time came when alcohol was no longer an alternative. One of the greatest gifts in recovery for me has been the courage to take action, which I found I can do with God’s help. After five years of sobriety, I had to deal with a heavy dose of fear. God put the people in my life to help me do that and, through my working the Twelve Steps, I am becoming the whole person I wish to be and, for that, I am deeply grateful.”

Adapted from Daily Reflections

Meditation for the Day To see God with eyes of faith is to cause God's power to manifest itself in the material world. God cannot do His work because of unbelief. In response to your belief, God can work a miracle in your personality. All miracles happen in the realm of personality caused by and based on belief in God's never-failing power. But God's power cannot manifest itself in personalities unless those personalities make His power available by their faith. We can only see God with the eyes of faith, but this kind of seeing produces a great change in our way of living. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may see God with the eyes of faith. I pray that this seeing will produce a change in my personality.

Adapted from Twenty-Four Hours a Day© 1975 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.