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 reading starts with a simple yet bold statement - I will dare to be myself. Six simple words that for me are a great way to start the day!
The reminder tells us: I have a right to want what I want and to feel the way I feel. I may not choose to act on those feelings or desires, but I won't hide them from myself. They are a part of me.
The quote is from William Shakespeare: "This above all: to thine own self be true."
The reading shares how many different ways we put others above self, and in doing so, are not true to self. It also suggests that Al-Anon doesn't tell us how to behave nor does it legislate right from wrong. Al-Anon does encourage us to look searchingly and fearlessly at self - feelings, motives and actions. We can only learn to love self if we are willing to learn who we are.
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I have always loved this page. I can relate to almost all that is written. I have certainly changed plans for others, I have also certainly put myself beneath others and I can attest to not really knowing me - who I am, what I want, etc. before recovery. I had no idea what it meant to be authentic and to be true to self.
What I did know is nothing I was doing, thinking, etc. was working before recovery. No matter what, it wasn't consistent nor was it lasting. I needed recovery and a HP outside of me to help me shake my unhealthy thoughts, habits, coping ways. Old habits die hard, and I still at times want to return to selfish, self-serving, poor me thinking yet pausing long enough to ask for courage and strength from my HP works wonders today.
I am grateful to know me and I am grateful to be me. I truly hated my life and probably my self before owning my powerlessness, and that's no longer true. What a gift we are given when we practice recovery!
Happy Thursday to one and all - it's still really cold here but a bit warmer than before. I am so looking forward to spring!
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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
Good Morning IAH too love this page as it reinforces the simple principle that alanon embraces which is: "Keep the focus on yourself".
In doing so we need to Examine our motives, so we can understand why we say hat we say and do what we do . this is not an easy road that we travel so that showing up , using the tools and sharing helps greatly
Thanks for your service and enjoy the day
Thank you Iamhere for the daily! Thank you Betty too!
I love that this reading is on day 24. That number has always been a significant one for me. So it is just truly befitting that it's message is about being true to yourself!
I started out my young adult life, confident, knowing just what I wanted. For various reasons, many of those dreams did not come true. Along the way, I lost myself as well. So now, in my mid-fifties, I am rediscovering who I want to be... who I need to be. Daunting at times, for sure, but readings such as these help me to see that what I am choosing is the right path. I am also beginning to see that it probably is my HP that puts these little, quiet reminders in my face! LOL!
I know I certainly have had my share of bending over backwards for others, changing plans, even changing dreams. I now know that even as a young, "confident" adult, I never really had deep, deep belief in myself. Perhaps if I did, my life would've been very different! However, today, I can move forward and not dwell in the "What If's." If I am true to myself, then I will end up where I need to be!
Such a good reminder!
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"The wolf that thrives, is the one you feed." - Cherokee legend
"Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields... Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness." Mary Oliver
Thanks IAH for your service. This reading is truly inspiring. I even love the name of the daily book: Courage to Change. Yes it does take courage and I am proud of myself for continuing to see my flaws, working my program, and leaning on HP. A statement I remind myself of from Deepak Chopra is: no one is above me and no one is below me. We are all equal, and for the most part I no longer put myself below everyone, as I grew up doing. Lyne
Thank you IAH! This IS a great page. I definitely felt like a confident person and really was pretty far from it. I people pleased from morning till night; deferred to what other people wanted to do and was afraid to make a decision without an act of congress to back it up.
I still have a tendency to want to "check in with others" but I resist most times as I find I end up resentful or not happy with the results. I have learned to say no and leave it at no without reams and miles of explanation.
I remind myself that my best friend is always with me......my HP. If I listen closely and pay attention to the nudges, I go ahead with what feels right for me and pay attention to those feelings....as many times I have felt them before in similar circumstances.
no one is above me and no one is below me. We are all equal, and for the most part I no longer put myself below everyone, as I grew up doing.
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Hey Lyne, I love that statement....I used to put me below everyone as well because I was brainwashed into think I WAS below...I didn't make mistakes, I WAS a mistake....boy I had a lot to overcome re: negative messages fed to me....
Now, thanks to program, I put me as an EQUAL......in the beginning, it was them them them (no me) then when I FIRST got onto recovery, I was so needy/desperate/needing to be heard/validated it was ME ME ME ME now it is
Just ===ME TOO!!!!! I like Deepak Chopra...Lots of wisdom there....
good shares, everyone above me!!!!!! I love these dailies....
Thanks. 
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