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.
One of the conclusions I have come to in my old age is the importance of living in the ever-present now. In the past, too often I indulged in the belief that somehow or other tomorrow would be brighter or happier or richer. --Ruth Casey
How easily our minds jump from the present to the foibles of the past or our fears about the future. How seldom are our minds on this moment, and only this moment.Before we picked up this book, where were our thoughts? We need to practice, with diligence, returning our minds to whatever the experience at hand. A truly creative response to any situation can only be made when we are giving it our undivided attention. And each creative response initiates an even more exciting follow-up experience.
######ROSIE....for me it was either anger/rage at the past....ruminating on the outrage done to me....i wallowed in anger.....OR i was fantasizing about the future...it was always the same thing at the end of the year "well year 2XXX is gonna be my year...thats when it will turn*.....and *2XXX* would come and complete and *no turning of the karma*....same ole crap, diferent year, and i was that much older/ more bitter/ disillusioned.........i still do the *fantasy* thing, but i am not as bad...getting better....better at staying in the NOW....RIGHT now......i think that is part of why i have trouble staying in my body, because i am *not there*....as i work on this i see that i am *in my body* more and i can enjoy the *right now*.....OR if i am going through something, i no longer supress it....i allow the feelings/ take care of me NOW.....
All we have of life, all that it can offer us is here, now. If we close our mind to the present, this present, we'll only continue to do so when the tomorrow we dream of now becomes the present. There are no tomorrows.I will let go of the past and the future. My only reality is here, now. God's gifts are here, today, right now.
######ROSIE.....you know when i think of this, i think of all the crap i worried about in my *gloom and doom* days, waiting for the other shoe to fall , and many times it did not.....the time i wasted the energy i spent, worrying about tomorow, when i may not HAVE tomorow.......i think when hurrican Katrina wiped out my next door neighbors, it was a wake up call for me....i am more GRATEFUL now...more appreciative now for the peace in my life.....i *stop and smell the flowers* now.......i mean these people had lives..homes...jobs...and over night, that was taken away.....like "KABLAM"!!! and their whole lives as they knew them were gone!!!! it made me sick at my heart, because before it hit, the DAY before it hit, i was bitching about a stupid little problem with my truck......boy, talk about someone getting on her knees and giving thanks for the stupid thing with the truck.....that disaster was a humbling experience for me.......all i got is NOW!!!!! so why not make the BEST of my *now* so IF i have tomorow, it will be hopeful.....thank you DONE!!!!
I hear you...I also used to worry about a lot of things that never came to fruition. Today I work hard to be grateful for this day I have. I was just on the phone with a dr, having trouble because they couldn't bill my ins company. Turns out I had given them the wrong info...lol. For a couple of minutes I was upset about how complicated ins can be. Then I remembered to be grateful I have insurance in the first place. Gratitude really helps me to be where I need to be...
