Begin Today by Vince Jones

What happens? After a few weeks (sometimes a very few) “stuff” begins to happen. Work ramps up. The kids start or resume an extra curricular activity that involves travel time and scheduling. The spouse is less than supportive in their activities and eating habits and the “discussions” about it are becoming tedious or downright acrimonious. I’m sure you can add to the list. So with no real thought we give ourselves license to miss a session or two. The idea of everyone else eating pizza while we try to choke down one more Lean Cuisine becomes intolerable. Remember when you said, out loud, they tasted good? Soon the only remaining remnants of the gym are the clothes in the back of the closet and that automatic deduction from the checking account every month, the buff strut a forgotten memory.

No matter how much time I spend working out, time and gravity assures that there are some areas that have reached the “no matter what you do it sags” stage. And when did the fact that I have to pee a little more frequently become the subject of a never ending barrage of commercials questioning the quality of my life? Let alone the ads for the couples sitting in those bathtubs (OUTSIDE!) dealing with the tragedy of one of those saggy bits I spoke of earlier. Remember: If this product does what it was designed to do for more than four hours, call your doctor. Or in my case - an undertaker.

Begin Today

Because modes of thinking are contagious we allow the same thing to happen in our spiritual life. We read a book or hear a speaker which energizes us and we vow to follow a new path. What happens? "Gym Think." After a time the old manner, habits, of living reassert themselves and we drift back to where we started. Then a new book or teacher catches our attention and the cycle begins again. Break the cycle and BEGIN TODAY. The day will come for all of us when this physical shell will fail, regardless of how many hours we spend working out and/or eating right. Remember Jim Fixx? But our essential nature, call it soul, cosmic conscious, or whatever term appeals to you, is eternal. Decide today to place your feet on the path and let no later vicissitude shake your resolve. When "Gym Think" creeps in reject it by turning to God for strength and guidance. Just for today demonstrate prayer and meditation in your life, as if your life, your eternal life, depended on it, for in fact it does.

....A twenty minute walk and a good multivitamin is OK too.

- Vince Jones, Sober Living by the Sea Lecturer

See Vince Jones' Blog Thought For the Day to read more of his thoughts about AA and recovery.

BIO:
In the mid 1930’s; for the first time in human history, a solution to the age old riddle of alcoholism surfaced. What set this approach apart was the discovery that someone in recovery speaking from the heart could accomplish more with a sufferer in a few minutes than clergy or medical professionals had in years. By the end of the 1930’s a new book was launched chronicling the truths of recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous burst on the world stage. Early recovery rates were above 50% and a movement was born. Recovery rates remained high into the 1960’s when Alcoholics Anonymous began to change. Less impedance was placed on the steps and service and more on feelings. Today recovery rates are pegged at 10% or less. Fifteen years ago I developed a teaching curriculum that emphasizes a return to the roots of the process, to recapture the early success rates. I have worked with over a thousand individuals in the ensuing years and though I was sure at the beginning, I am convinced today that those early success rates can be recaptured for I have seen it happen. Additionally the principles will work for any who are suffering if they are willing, honest and remain open minded. As well as teaching these principles at Sober Living By The Sea I teach them to at risk High School students.