Sharing with others daily words, thoughts and meditations that bring myself hope and renewal during my own daily battles and frustrations with COPD/Asthma.  Sharing, because as we all know – without that horizon of hope, our daily renewal of faith and fight can dim in a hurry.

Take, read, meditate and hopefully find some of the same hope in your daily battles with a chronic illness and/or disability as I have within mine….

The Word – “To a degree, he has already done this when taking a moral inventory, but not the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts….” (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 77)

The Thought – When we were diagnosed with or discovered we had a chronic illness and/or disability, did we not have to take time to take inventory of our current circumstances and line it up with our new travel of life with the companionship of that chronic illness and/or disability.

While this writer uses words of wisdom and guidance from the Alcoholic Anonymous program, it is because this writer is not only one with a chronic illness and/or disability, but one also who has had to learn life while fighting off an addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs.  The two battles have many similarities and many of the guidance and wisdom given in battles with one, work very well with the battles with the other.

The Word today points out the need we have while battling a chronic illness and/or disability to continually work on the efforts we are making in dealing with the effects of all that surround us while the battle continues.

One of the areas many need to double up on their efforts may be found in being willing to take more time in quiet meditation to talk with both ourselves and the ‘Great Spirits’ in conversations of what we have done and what we can and should be doing not only to make the battle we have before easier for us, but for those who surround us as family, friends and caretakers.

Just when we think we have done enough, have we not had a moment where the darn chronic illness and/or disability threw us an unexpected curve ball or maybe even a sucker punch, causing us to stumble in our travels while getting back up and saying we can get past this unexpected moment of battle.

Those are the moments when we must redouble our efforts in taking charge of our daily living within the companionship of our chronic illness and/or disability.  May we at those moments redouble our time of quiet meditation and redouble the effort to seek the wisdom and guidance of the ‘Great Spirits’ to work on grasping and holding onto hope, faith, love and grace – the four fundamentals of life and happiness.

The Meditation/Prayer – Oh ‘Great Spirits’, as we work at doubling up our efforts to take time in quiet to converse within our self and with you, may we remember foremost to give thanks to our self and to you, ‘Great Spirits’, for all the good that does surround us today in our travels of this trip we call life.  ‘Great Spirits’ we seek for the guidance and wisdom to double up our efforts and game plan for battling this companion we have been given called chronic illness and/or disability.  Help us develop the strength and courage to stand up and continue to march forward in life, not only for our self, but for those who surround us as family, friends and caretakers.  May we double up our efforts to learn how to grasp and hold tight to hope, faith, love and grace – knowing that without these four, life and happiness will be just a bit more of a struggle in those future travels we have ahead.

With that we all say Hallelujah, Amen.

(Copyright@2017, CrossDove Writer – This writing may not be reused in any manner without written permission.)

(More ‘Living 4 Today’ writings can be found at either wheezingaway.com or on Facebook at COPD Travels.)