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.
Tomorrow's reading talks about finding our sense of humor. Most of us, when we arrived to the rooms rarely cracked a smile and resented others who did. For some, the laughter in the meetings was hard to understand, as our lives felt tragic and serious.
While many changes in recovery are awesome and welcome, rediscovering a sense of humor is golden/glorious. When we see ourselves and our lives in a more realistic way, we are no longer victims, self-pity slips away and we let go of trying to control every aspect of life. What a gift to be able to take ourselves and our circumstances more lightly! Joy and laughter can even be included in difficult times.
Reminder: If I take a step back and look at this day as if I were watching a movie, I am sure to find at least a moment where I can enjoy some comic relief.
Quote from Ethel Barrymore: "You grow up the day you have the first real laugh -- at yourself."
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I can say that I was way too serious BR (Before Recovery). I had lost my sense of humor, my joy, my balance and truly my sense of self. I was not disappointed by the joy, laughter and genuine ease of others at the meetings - I was intrigued. Watching others be able to talk about their experiences with this disease and show courage, strength and hope to me and others gave me just enough hope to come back.
I love the reminder...my whole road-trip experience with my parents, while at the time, seemed urgent, frightening and reasonably insane, it is also extremely funny when I step back and relive it or share it. The best gift of my recovery truly is finding joy each day and doing all that I can to hold on to it, one day at a time. I no longer am willing to give any person, place or thing my power as my serenity is way more important to me than almost anything else.
Love and light MIP family - have a great Thursday!
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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
what is so weird about ME is that the one thing my past DIDNT take from me was my sense of humour...gallows at times, but I did find stuff funny...I also was angry a lot...More so ,probably then laughing....I saw my computer guru a couple of months ago and he said that I was "different" better different..and i said "oh, how??" and he said I smiled more and that I didn't look so angry and I thought to myself, "but gee, I remember laughing quite a bit, not as a child, but when I was outta there" then it dawned on me...I was also drinking and partying quiet a bit, too...sober?? I was angry, I told my guru whose wife is a friend also, that I had gotten into recovery (I hadnt' seen him in like 6 years or more) in 2004, I guess it took a while to "take" because my old windows 7 machine, i got from him while in recovery, but I guess I was still that not drinking angry little fire ball.....yea, I still get angry, but it doesn't control me like it used to....NOW, I can LAUGH and relish n it and I don't have to be drinking to find stuff funny............
Thanks IAH for your service and both above shares. Yes guilty of being way too serious most of my life. I couldn't laugh at anything at all, let alone myself. I saw me as a damaged tragic person, destined to be a failure in every way. My dogs and granddaughter give me laughs everyday now, and program has helped me focus on the lighter side of things. I have a choice--I can be miserable all the time which is how I used to be, or look for gratitude, blessings, and joy. I now take the latter.
Thank you Iamhere for your service and a great Daily!
I grew up with a very funny, silly father. He could also be very serious. In retrospect, I chose my husband b/c he was funny, outgoing, good-looking, but not so serious. He always had a smile on his face, and balanced my serious/shy side. Even though I can be kind of serious, I love to laugh, and I especially enjoy dark humor. At one time, I could say I was almost at the "master level" of sarcastic humor... today I recognize that sarcastic humor can be (many times) at the expense of others... and that can cause pain... so I work on not participating in that. I grew up with watching the great Don Rickles, George Carlin, Flip Wilson, etc... their brand of humor... not always appropriate for today's standards.
As I age, I have also recognized that laughing at oneself is important!! It keeps me humble and grounded.
Looking back into the not so far away past, I remember the first time I spent most the day with a smile on my face... the first time I laughed... the first time I could exist with music on (music brings joy to me). All these things returned in time with working the Al-Anon program. I am forever grateful.
I spent my first social distanced visit with my best friend last night. It has been 5 1/2 months since I have ventured out for anything except food or work. We laughed and laughed! It fed my soul. I had not noticed how serious/intense I had become b/c of the pandemic/lock-down. Time for some introspection for sure!
Grateful. &
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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
I have always had an outrageous sense of humor but sadly that vanished when i was in the depth of despair over my loved ones situation.
Life became very dark and serious and it was not a fun place to be to say the least.
Thankfully, that was restored through recovery work and I am now able to look back at some of the things that happened and see the humor in it. Another gift of recovery.
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