I tried looking up the history of the prayer, because its origin isn't universally accepted and several adaptations of the prayer exist, one is in use by AA. Here is a common one:
- Just for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.
- Just for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.
- Just for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
- Just for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.
- Just for today, I will devote ten minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
- Just for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
- Just for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.
- Just for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.
- Just for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.
- Just for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.
And I think that is a fantastic prayer for meditation.
Bimba Landmann's style isn't one that everyone will immediately appreciate. She has a whimsy to be sure... but not a fun, cutesy, whimsy like Elisa Kleven that everyone adores... Bimba's is more ethereal and almost Byzantine influenced. In this book, for example, the pictures are gorgeous but aren't always a perfect correlation with the text at first glance. There's a boy (who is he? The young pope?) who seems to be living in some kind of Turkish or Muslim-inspired seaside village. And he has, um... a pet reindeer... I think that's what it is at least.
Yet despite these oddities, it all somehow fits. And it makes the prayer's meditative quality shine through to not have such literal illustrations.
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