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

((Serenity)) good job prayers continue

Inspiring program work, continued thoughts and prayers.

I absolutely love this slogan, and it is part of who I am. For me, in my experience, it is not just a slogan, but more of a mindset, a way of thinking. It has helped me make decisions, it has driven my decision making when I was not objective...when thinking of the heart supersedes matters of the mind and intellect. Yes, it is very much something that allows me to behave in a different way -- a better way, the right way, a healthy way.

I think this slogan can be extremely helpful in recovery -- extremely helpful. If someone truly wants to get better, truly wants to get healthy...and you are willing to make change...then this slogan can be the catalyst for change in your life, it can be the catalyst for getting better. I love the same feelings and scared and worried...but those things are not consuming you. You aren't on the rollercoaster! I love that!

In my experience, with my sponsor, and with people I have sponsored...this is a slogan that is underutilized and overlooked...and when looked at, people don't go "far enough" with it, so to speak.

Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!

Completely agree PaP...you expressed this so clearly and concisely. For me, in my experience, I think there are two paths or two tracks to take -- the passive one and the active one. Each person has to decide which one is right for them. I don't discount or deny either one, but for me, I've always found when I am in action, I am empowered, and I am getting better, making progress, etc.

I don't discount the HP aspect, or praying, and I do embrace and do both. However, from my perspective -- the overwhelming majority of progress, improvement, getting better, etc., involves me doing something, taking some action, and early on, making change. I can pray for knowledge of his will...but I also pray for the power to carry that out...me, to carry that out. Not him, not anyone else. Me.

It can be hard for people to embrace this, to be in action on this. I get it. You are right -- many shy away from it. I get it. Each will do whatever -- when they are ready. When they want to. I know for me, before that, I didn't...because I didn't want to. Looking back at it -- I wanted to keep enabling. I did not want to detach. I wanted to keep doing what I was doing. For many reasons. And I did. Until I was ready and really wanted to change. In certain respects, I only made the change -- and stopped doing what I was doing -- when the pain of what I was doing got too great and was too much to bear. Rock bottom!!! Then, change was forced. I was forced into making change. I couldn't go on.

It's easy to keep analyzing, journaling, talking about it, even praying. I for one always hope that works for people. If it doesn't...then...nothing changes if nothing changes.

Thanks to all for sharing.

It is completely about ME. I agree wholeheartedly Bo. I can have the worst, anxiety filled day, with my emotions all over the map, conjuring up all the worst case scenarios based on living in the future and from information that I don't even have. OR . I can live in today, act on information that is in front of me and arrives when I need to know. I don't have to go looking for any of it. If I need to know I will receive it. Then I can decide what is the next right thing for myself.

The interesting thing is my qualifier is doing nothing different when I am in either state, its all how I choose to react, and what I choose to focus on that results in the outcome for myself.

Dear serenity

That was a very lovely and powerful share. You arrived at being aware and accepting that you truly cannot change another, and then you sprang into action to take care of yourself. Thats when you know you really have some good progress going for you. I am in the same boat. Where I have a drug addicted daughter whom I think is still sober but she will not have any contact with me. The drugs changed her. I dont even know what I did to make her mad this time for her to not want to have anything to do with me. But now, instead of obsessing over her and all of that, I just wrote her a loving email and said I was detaching and letting her go to experience her own life song and that I would always love her but I am going to move on and take care of me

I have another daughter whom I was ignoring almost t and did make amends to, because the good child who doesnt give me grief and stress, was getting less of my attention. So I had to own that and get with her and discuss that with her and I told her that I was going to make some serious changes and just put some distance between me and her Sister. My younger girl was even getting resentful towards the older one because the older one was getting the bulk of my attention. Thats not the case anymore. I let her go in love and in peace and I am focusing on the one thing I can change and that is me, and to be brutally honest, I am going to love and give my energy to the ones who love me back, and let the rest of them go