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! Today's reading suggests we do NOT have to map out a Master Plan for our recovery - our HP has already done this. We just need to humbly ask for HP's guidance and for willingness to follow the guidance. We learn that we are not alone in our lives and recovery and we learn that we will receive all that we need along the way. We can walk serenely in the right direction AFTER praying for our recovery and letting go.
No doubt that we can make choices that speed or aid our progress. We can practice healthy self-care consistently. We can attend meetings, call our sponsor, explore different service work, relax, meditate, exercise, read literature, play, eat healthy - just examples. When we put forth the effort to do what we can each day, we gradually get stronger!
Reminder: I can't control my recovery. I can't force myself to let go any faster, nor insist upon serenity. But I can take small actions to remind myself that I am a willing participant in this process. I have every reason to be hopeful, for each step I take is a step toward living life more fully. Today, I will do something nice for myself that I haven't made time for until now.
Quote from Henry David Thoreau: "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
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I am grateful for our simple, gentle program of recovery! As suggested, I don't have to have all the answers, manage in minutia detail my recovery or even my days. All I have to do is let go of my ego, ask for daily guidance in my recovery and then do the next right thing.
Before recovery, I spent more waking hours worrying, projecting, resenting, etc. - past and future focused. Needless to say, my ego and my will really wanted to manage, control, direct, fix any/all things around me as I thought my way was the best and WHEN I found SUCCESS, all would be well. What an insane, crazy, fear-based way to exist! I'm grateful I and things have changed dramatically! Al-Anon has truly set me free from so many obsessions and distorted thoughts, and I continue to change, grow and learn each day!
I hold my serenity near and dear to my heart. As I live this messy life, one day at a time, I truly work to stay in my serene lane. What a gift to detach from 'all' that happens and trust the God of my understanding with the real Master Plan!
Love and light all - interesting reading with the suggestion to do something special for self - I actually have a meeting today at the nearest golf course about doing some volunteer work in exchange for 'free golf'. This course is run by the local city/county and is literally walking distance from my home. I have friends who 'do this' so I decided to check it out. If it works, it works - if not, that's OK too!
Make it a great day - find and keep your joy!
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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
I chuckled when I read the first paragraph, as i LOVE to have a plan! So the "...we do NOT have to map out a Master Plan..." spoke volumes to me today!
It is also a great reminder that we can't control our recovery. I feel the above explanation of this is crucial, b/c we are reminded over and over that there is no one we can control but OURSELVES. As such, I pretty much thought I would control MY recovery. It was MY recovery after all! Well, my HP has other plans, I guess. LOL! To have the knowledge "spelled out" - you can make choices to speed or aid our journey - but time will just take... Time. That was/is key for me. It helped me to see that much of what I struggle with comes straight down to ACCEPTANCE.
Wonderful you are checking into the golf thing, Iamhere! I happen to love the Barter System! I think it can foster better relations between people (most of the time).
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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 and for both shares above. Today is a struggle for me and the reading is the reminder I need to take the best care of me, and leave the rest to HP. I'm going to get my car washed with little wax, and walk outside with my dogs. Both of these activities bring me some joy. I'm doing my best to hold onto serenity. It comes and goes but that's the best I can do at this moment in time. I carry hope with me and trust things that feel difficult to me will diminish in God's time. Lyne
Thank you, IAH, and all who shared. I love planning. I love having a to-do list and checking things off as I complete them. I do have to be careful that my to-do items are only the things I can change, not things I cannot change, and not things that others can do for themselves. And I find that it works best for my list to include only things I can complete in one day. The next day I can make another list.
Thanks Freetime... for this daily... ... and to y'all...
I find that I disagree with this reading, somewhat. But I wouldn't have 15 years ago. Let go and let Go [d]... was my mantra for a long time...
I came from a family system which was grossly passive aggressive. My AF, as far as I recall did not even bother to make plans, or make promises . There were no real tomorrows to look forward to. Not many anyway.
So, today I am more into goal settings. There are some that are so hi-falutin, that they are never going to work out- in a month of Sundays. Step 11 and heaps of reflection does not always take care of that. I find that regular sharing and mixing with other people does. It helps me come down to earth, sometimes.
It is with sadness, if not heavy heart that i look down the paddock to my tent. I always hate Ieaving home- and often have a pit in my stomach. So now I m looking forward to getting back... and to an event filled weekend...
I hope the tent is dry when I break camp in an hour or two... ...if not, main c'est la vie...
...I reflect, too on achievements. Not baby steps any more- but strides sometimes.
Maybe this is why I saw this reading a little differently, now... ????
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Thanks Freetime... for this daily... 
... and to y'all...