Josee M

“It’s important to distinguish between needs and wants.  Sometimes we spend so much time chasing after our wants that we neglect our true needs, and that’s a course of action that over time is bound to harm us.  Today it’s important to determine what exactly our needs are, and then attend to them so that we can make sure that we’re not going to burn out or hit a wall because we haven’t taken care of ourselves.      Wants are important, too, but it’s obvious that in the long term, our needs should take priority.  And when we identify a need, it’s important that we don’t brush it off without taking care of it, and today I’ll have chances to at least work on making sure that some important needs of mine are met.”
― Tom Walsh, Just for Today, The Expanded Edition

“Yes, hard times can make our spirits deep and strong. These moments tell us who we are as sober people. These moments help us grow and change. Spirituality is about choice. To be spiritual, we must turn ourselves over to the care of our Higher Power.”
― Anonymous, Keep It Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal

“just for today, i’ll allow many things to be out of my control. . . .        This can be very difficult for many of us.  When someone tells us about something bad going on, we tend to want to solve the problem, to exercise some level of control over it.  If someone is misbehaving, we often feel obligated to make that person change his or her behavior.  But many, many things in this life are not under our control, nor should they be—and we shouldn’t try to exert our influence trying to control them.  Sometimes we need to accept that this is someone else’s problem, and that person is able to deal with it, or that this is an issue that’s going to take some time to resolve, or that this really, truly is none of my business.      There are plenty of things in life that go on quite well without our involvement, and when we try to push ourselves in, we can add stress to our own lives and complicate the situations.  So today, I’m going to let some things go, for they aren’t my affair.”
― Tom Walsh, Just for Today, The Expanded Edition

“Today marks the last day of the calendar year. Many of us will celebrate this event with friends, food and partying. Some parishes offer an alternative way to commemorate the coming of the New Year: prayer in church before the Blessed Sacrament. Others of us will opt for sleep. However we celebrate, when the clock strikes midnight (unless we’re already in bed), we will bid farewell to 2014 and welcome in 2015. But before this year ends, let us take a few minutes today to thank God for the obvious blessings of 2014: our loved ones, our spiritual growth, the challenges we faced and worked through, the love we received and bestowed this past year. And let us entrust the painful and ambiguous events of 2014 to God’s love and mercy. Then let us ask God for the grace to live the coming year well, ready and eager to receive grace upon grace from our good God. God of all time, thank you for the graces of this past year and for the graces yet to come.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 3 - 2014 October, November, December