Someone shared at a meeting that if you had never seen the ocean, how would you know what it looked like? You might have an idea, but you wouldn't know for yourself until you went to the ocean and saw it with your own eyes.

Today I am thinking some about how that relates to me. I am impatient with myself for how I sometimes deal with things like anger and annoyances. Last night I got upset with my husband over something, and rather than express it to him calmly I took the opportunity to make an inappropriate dig at him. This is how my mother would have and always did handle this type of situation, so this is what I know. In alanon I am learning differently, and today I know I can do things differently. Others are showing me tools I didn't have before, and I am learning how to use them.

I apologized to my husband and noted to myself how I might handle that situation differently the next time it presents itself. It's nice to remember not to beat myself up and instead show myself a different path so I don't have to repeat the same things over and over...