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.
Good morning, MIP friends! It's still morning where I live. In today's reading, the author says that writing gratitude lists planted a seed -- but did not really improve their negative thinking. Eventually they learned to experience gratitude for little accomplishments they made in everyday life -- avoiding an argument, finishing a task. Appreciating the small changes helped their self-esteem. With that, they could go back to the gratitude list and appreciate things they had taken for granted.
----------------
Once again, a literature reading has told my story. I too was not fond of writing gratitude lists. It made me feel like I was back in elementary school, doing homework. But I have experienced the power of gratitude by feeling it in the moment, and at bedtime by thinking of a few things I am grateful for. I used to think that saying "thank you" was to make the other person feel good. Actually it helps me, whether I speak or think about my gratitude.
Small daily accomplishments are wonderful to appreciate. Yesterday I moved around some of the artwork on my walls -- just switched them from one wall to another -- and I am still feeling a good sense of appreciation that I could do it and that it changed my environment for the better. What accomplishments are you grateful for today?
-- Edited by Freetime on Friday 20th of September 2019 10:38:59 AM
Thank you Freetime for your service and the daily! I recall vividly how silly I thought gratitude lists were when I first heard them. I also (ego) believed I could just consider what I was grateful for in my head w/o making a list...my sponsor then asked me to send 5 things each day via text or email and I found something magical about pausing to consider, writing them down and sharing them with another.
It was hard. In my eyes/mind/view, my life sucked, my family was the most dysfunctional ever, ya-da-ya-da....I really spent an enormous amount of time commiserating with myself on my misery!!! While gratitude lists did NOT change me, they certainly did help me learn to slow down long enough to check the present and begin to see I really have a great life with painful parts vs. a crappy life.
Today, I'm very different in many ways - one includes balancing life, fun, etc. While yesterday was my birthday and I got to golf and play softball and go to lunch and nap, I managed to squeeze in some basic bathroom cleaning to lighten my load for today!! It's amazing how a task as simple as cleaning a bathroom a day earlier than planned can change my outlook - and the best part, I was already in a great spot...
I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life. It's such a healthier place for me to be - grateful for what is and what I have vs. wondering when I will get or have ...............................................
Happy Friday all - we've got rain headed our way for the better part of the weekend. Sending prayers for any affected by the flooding in TX...make it a great day!
__________________
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
Great tpoic Freetime. I must say my negative self refused to consider being a''grateful for my life because my EGO thought i had worked hard to accomplish all that i had and that I did it all on my owen Today i can make a gratitude ist and feel truly grateful thanks to this prgram and the tools
Gratitude topics have been surfacing a lot this week in my f2f groups.
Today I'm grateful that I can be grateful. When I first came to Alanon, I was too overwhelmed to focus on gratitude and my ego assigned blame to justify my stuckiness. I find that Alanon and my HP bring several reasons for gratitude daily.
Thank you Freetime for your service! I did not see this yesterday (already at work), but I feel it is important enough for me to post to today.
I can really identify with all the posters who responded to this great topic. At first, I was too overwhelmed and too angry to even think about ANYTHING I was grateful for. I also wallowed quite awhile with my Ego in the muck of "Why is this happening to me, I work so hard, try so hard at being perfect - why isn't my results perfect!" Today I can see all the small things that I can be grateful for!
Both my sponsor and Iamhere coaxed me into physically writing my Gratitude List. It was so woefully short at first! But as I healed, I found even more things to put on my list. And you know what? That easy task really started to make me feel better!!
Today I make a point of starting my day thanking my HP for the things both large and small that I find gratitude with. I say it out loud in my car as I commute to work!
So let me sign off by adding that this forum and the people within this family are at the top of my G-List!
&
__________________
"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
& 