The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Today's C2C speaks of joy, and how difficult it is for many of us to enjoy when it makes it's infrequent appearances in our lives. Many of us are desperate to cling on to happy moments when they come around- afraid they will be snatched away- and start obsessing over ways to 'freeze time" or make it a repeat occurence when things are happy. Ironically, when we obsess over trying to influence the future like this, we miss out on experiencing the moment itself.
"The harder we try to catch hold of the moment, to seize a pleasant sensation...the more elusive it becomes...it is like trying to clutch water in one's hands-the harder one grips, the faster it slips through one's fingers"- Alan Watts
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Now this is a lesson I have to keep learning. How often when things go right am I wasting time either literally trying to freeze time (by photographing it....why? To prove that it happened?) or plotting ways to make it happen again. Yet when I remember to live in the moment and appreciate everything as it comes, there are so many more joyful moments and simple things can make my soul sing. Often they just involve myself and my HP and a nice walk or a few stolen moments in the sun, rather than what I thought I needed to be happy in the past (perfect scenarios involving other people being perfect, lol).
Pre-al-anon I used to wonder why I usually felt saddest during 'happy" times, when people were together, celebrating etc. This reading sums it up just right. I was trying to "cling on" to those moments instead of enjoying them.
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If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see? (Lewis Caroll)
Thanks MissMel for the daily, your service and your ESH.....I know that when (that's a key word....) I can stay present, I am even calm during 'stormy times'. For me, it is when my mind drifts beyond the here and now that I am distracted from the joy of the moment. Before the program, I too seemed to rarely enjoy things - and it's because I was embracing the insanity of the disease and the past or the insanity of the disease projecting into the future.
I do like that quote - it reminds me to be open in mind and heart and just be in the moment. I truly have to do nothing - God's got this!
Happy Hump Day - make it great!
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
Great page and powerful reminder Ms.M. I can so identify as I have experienced this exact feeling and could've written this page.
Many years ago prior to program, I always wanted to freeze time so that I would enjoy a special day or person. I could not accept the facts that change was inevitable and that going with the flow would provide me with many enjoyable moments. This was just one of the many defects I needed to shed.
Today thanks to program I can feel joy at the smallest gift: a sunset, a flower, a child walking along learning to talk or ride a bike or a small animal. I try to enjoy each person in my life each day and know that acceptance of life on life's terms is a principle I must embrace each day.
I feel truly Blessed. Ms.M. thanks for your service and please do have a great day.
