From Hope For Today, October 15:
“I need to spend a lot of time doing nothing. I watched the world pass by as I berated myself for not accomplishing anything. When I did take action, it was often a reaction. I reacted impulsively and compulsively to the words and behaviors of everyone around me. Itb seemed as though I was always ricocheting off two walls, one marked ‘inactive’ and the other marked ‘reactive.’
I need to remember to cultivate a balance between action and inaction. Impulsiveness can be as much a trap as immobility…It helps me to remember that a period of inner waiting and preparation, what I used to call doing nothing, takes place before I can realize which action to take. When my Higher Power and I are ready, everything falls into place in a way that never could have happened had I acted alone.”
In the program there is a saying: “Sit there; don’t do anything.” In other words, all my frantic fixing, doing, and attempts to protect are often counterproductive and achieve just the opposite, especially if I haven’t thought things through first. And experience has shown me to use prayer and meditation as I go through this process. All too often fear will lead me to make unwise decisions. When I slow down and ask for help, doing nothing for the moment, I feel more confident in the choices I make.