Buttons

. Button, button, who has the button ???

I remember the name of the game from

when we played it in elementary school,

but I can't remember the rules

or how one was a winner or loser.

However, these are not the buttons

that I am referring to in the title of this article.

What I would like to discuss are the emotional buttons that most people have,

at least those bodies that are conscious and alive.

As a drunk I loved my buttons, they were the excuses needed to get pissed off

and go stomping off to the bar where I knew there were people who understood me

and where button pushing was an art, a science, to be used and abused for the

entertainment of one and all.

Then I found the rooms of AA and two things were pointed out to me:

1.) An alcoholic does not need an excuse to drink. An alcoholic drinks because he has to,

his body, mind and soul are under the addictive influence of alcohol and the obsession

and compulsion to drink are causes which the alcoholic has no control over.

2.) The buttons are mine and how I react is my responsibility, my choice.

Good  button, Bad button.

The bad buttons are anger, jealousy, envy, grandiosity, know-it-all ism, and just

about every negative emotion that one can think of.

These buttons control the gate, the door, the curtain, the window dressing of who I really am.

My disease of alcholism wants me to isolate, be alone, push away anyone who loves me

and to ultimately kill myself.

The bad buttons are the best defense for hinding the me that I could no longer identify.

The good buttons are attitudes of kindness and unconditional love the people who

are in control of their emotions display all day, every day.

Good buttons establish boundries that keep one from being used and abused.

The good buttons generate compassion and forgiveness, no more need to hide,

no more need to lie, cheat and steal.

Today, do not push the buttons of the sick and suffering, be a good example

and show how a faith in a Higher Power can allow one to display only the healthy

buttons, can lead one on a pathway of sobriety that is happy, joyous and free.

Today, display your God button for all to see and know that the grace of the

Spirit of the Universe is how the alcoholic/addict achieves sobriety.

Happiness is a button (attitude) of gratitude.

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ME and the Boss

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Space

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The three dimensions:

distance, area and volume,

can be used when discussing

the word space,

but more important than these

is the dimension of time.

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The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis

"I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end
He noted that first came the date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years..."


The complete poem, "The Dash", tells the story of the most important space that exists,
the duration of our lives. Today is the most important time in that space. What we do
in the space of the next 24 hours may be all that we will be remembered by.
Will we be remembered as a good guy or a bad guy, or just as a person who did the
best they could within the space they occupied.

God will give us the chance, we must make the choice.

Hope, faith and good habits will place us in a dimension where we can be of service
to self, others and our Higher Power.

Hope is the thought, the wishes of our mind.

Faith is the belief, the heart of our desires.

Good habits are the soul that puts into action the doing of the will of a Higher Power.

The Spirit of the Universe is in control of the dimension beyond our comprehension,
our space needs to be occupied by doing the best we can to carry the message of a
loving God. Be kind, the space between making a good choice and a selfish one is
very small. Be loving, the space you fill in the hearts of others is directly proportional
to what you give. Be patient and tolerant of those whose time and space may be out of
control. Do not teach, do not preach, just be a good example to those who do not know
how to use their space wisely.

"As long as you don't forgive, who and whatever it is
will occupy rent-free space in your mind."                       ~ Isabelle Holland


Have a friend, learn from those who make good choices, time and space are too valuable
to spend on the losers. Losers are those who refuse to change for the better. Do the best
you can within the space that you live, life is not a practice run, today is it, do the next
right thing and become a good habit, one that will have improved the world for all.

"Don't ever believe that you have nothing to contribute.
The world is an incredible unfulfilled tapestry,
And only you can fulfill that tiny space that is yours."               ~ Leo Buscaglia

Laugh, love and make sure your space is well occupied.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

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ME and the Boss

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Free

. Such a

small word

yet it has

so many degrees

of meaning

that we can

become a slave

to its definition.

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What is free. ???

Who is free. ???

Where does free come from.???

Without other people teaching us we cannot learn what free is.

Without the freedom to go to other places we would have nothing

to compare our lives to.

Without the giving and taking of things we would never learn

the value of what free is.

No person is an island.

No person is free of conscious.

No person is free from having to make choices.

Free is not having a negative feeling,

even though most negative feelings are freely given.

Free is not being a slave to an addictive substance or behavior.

By being obligated to doing the next right thing,

we free ourselves to enjoy life.

Free is a responsibility to make the right choice.

Free is to allow ourselves to make a choice

that will permit us to do the will of a Higher Power.

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."

~ Michelangelo

Free is using our God given talents to make the world a better place to live.

It is free to show kindness.

It is free to be patient and tolerant.

It is free to forgive.

It is free to show love

It is free to be the person God wants us to be.

Use your free choice to be better than what is expected.

If your life is free of failures, you're not taking enough risks.

Today, decide for yourself, make a choice, think about free

and make it work for you.

Today, free yourself from negative feelings and bad habits.

Today, make a gratitude list and thank your Higher Power

for all the people, places and things that are free in your life..

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Love is helping someone love themselves.

Life is living and loving in the here and now.

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ME and the Boss

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Who Goes There?

. Luck,

Serendipity,

Coincidence,

Consequence,

by any name,

it is God's way

of remaining

anonymous.

Good things happen to good people.
Bad people often get away with things, because God wants to give them a second chance.
Eventually the Piper is to be paid.

"However great an evil immorality may be,
we must not forget that it is not without its beneficial consequences.
It is only through extremes that men can arrive
at the middle path of wisdom and virtue."    ~ Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt

It is not all about you.

This is a world that is linked together by choices and chance.
The choices are yours to make, the chances are God given.

Keep it simple, make today the best day of your life.

Chose to allow the philosophers to philosophize, and live your life in the real world,
connected to other real people.

Choose to be positive.

Choose to be happy.

Choose to love.

Choose to share the good.

Let God determine the consequences. God will give you what you need.

You will become wise and virtuous by learning from the people
that God will put into your life.

Remember, do not kill the messenger, even when some of God's lessons
are given to us by those who practice evil immorality.

"Perhaps we're too embarrassed to change or too frightened
of the consequences of showing that we actually care.
But why not risk it anyway? Begin Today.
Carry out a random act of seemingly senseless kindness,
with no expectation of reward or punishment.
Safe in the knowledge that one day, someone,
somewhere, might do the same for you."       ~ Diana, Princess of Wales,1961-1997

Learn today so that you may teach today.
Today, the will of your Higher Power is to teach His lessons.
Today, do not be the teacher of the immoral lesson.
Today, be the teacher of patience, tolerance, kindness and love.
Do not rely on luck or serendipity, doing the will of a Higher Power
is much more likely to give you the serenity and peace of mind that
you seek and will make today worth living for.

Today, practice doing random acts of senseless kindness.
Pray for what you want, but know that God will give you more than you need.
Who goes there? Your anonymous God.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

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ME and the Boss

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Compass

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May your

moral compass

always point

towards

Happiness.

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"Conscience is a man's compass."        ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Check the map of your life, your moral conscious and if you consciously
seek happiness today, you will find it. Have an attitude of gratitude.

Thank your Higher Power for giving you another day to celebrate living
a life of service. Happiness is looking for the things in life that are pleasing.
If your compass is upside down you will find trouble. Look for the negative
and you will find it. Dwell on the negative and you will be miserable.
Live in today, the here and now, and do your best to keep your compass
right side up. Do not know where your compass is, look inside of yourself.

If you do not know which way your compass is pointing, ask a friend.
Keep life a simple matter, check your moral compass on an as needed basis,
and make sure it is always pointed towards the better things for everyone.
Lying, cheating and stealing only complicate ones life.
Do not rely solely on your thinking, sometimes your best thinking
is what may put you in harms way.

Learn to rely on your feelings and be aware of when your compass
may be out of alignment with the will of your Higher Power.
When you know in your heart that this is the best you can do,
be happy and enjoy.

Live up to your expectations for yourself, not the expectations
others may have for you.

Compasses never need fixing.

You are lying if you say your compass is broken, you are cheating if you hold
your finger on the needed and do not feel what is in your heart, you are stealing
when you try to manipulate the compass of another person.

God has given everyone a compass; learn to use your compass often and wisely.
Share your compass with others until they learn how to read their own.
Do not try to be the compass of another person, unless they ask,
or the judge request that you sit on the jury.

God is His own judge and jury; He does not need your help.

Keep your compass clean so you may see it clearly.
Avoid the dark when it becomes impossible to see your compass.

Today, may all of your compass points be good feelings of happiness,
kindness, patience and tolerance, love and understanding, and willingness
to do the next right thing.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves

ME and the Boss

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