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.
I've been volunteering at my neighborhood festival this weekend and have had several instances of the gifts of the program that I wanted to share. One of my oldest friends (who is a bit cranky and who could benefit from al-anon, imho), said "boy, you seem really calm" (she knows I'd just broken up with aexbf and the festival set up is also a stress-inducing time every year). One of the festival exhibitors commented on my peaceful smile. And another exhibitor said "hey, i remember you from high school! I transferred to the school and you were one of the first people I saw and I just loved your energy and your way of being and I recognized you immediately." I didn't remember her at all, and this was 30 years ago that we were in high school. I was so touched by what she said.
I think that what's happening is that I am recovering -- I'm recovering my core self, getting back to my essential nature. I just looked up the definition of recovery and found these two definitions:" a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength." and "the action or process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost." I'm thinking that I had lost (given away) my normal state of healthy mind and now I'm in the process of getting it back. I love this way of thinking about recovery and I feel so grateful to be in this state of being calm right now and not to be in the state of torment that I'd been in for the past several months.
Love, love, love this! I see a miracle in progress - good on you girl....keep working it!!!
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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
Thanks for sharing this. I hadnt thought about the word recovery like that before. For me going back to a time when my thinking was healthy was way back into my childhood and I suppose thats where we are hoping to get to and this spiritual journey is trying to take us to that place where we are free of the distorted thinking habits of denial, resentment, anger and replace them with the truth, acceptance, love, forgiveness, gratitude. Recovery to me is changing the old thought processes and replacing them with the new and its about new habits.
