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 - apologies for the later than usual post - I have quarantine brain - thought it was Wednesday...
Today's reminder: Al-Anon encourages me to examine my thoughts and actions, but this is meant as an act of self-love, not as a weapon to use against myself. When I begin to accept myself exactly as I am, life will feel a lot more gentle.
Quote for the day: "Sometimes we try so hard that we fail to see that the light we are seeking is within us."
The writer tells of a billboard in their town that says,"Some come to the fountain of knowledge to drink. Some come to gargle." In comparing her pre-Al-Anon probable thoughts vs. her in recovery thoughts, the author determines either applies depending upon the day/time/etc. All is good - we learn this by practicing this program as best we can.
BR (Before Recovery), I was way too serious - about life, love, right/wrong, everything. I did not know how to relax, have fun and just 'be' me. I lived in an exhaustive perpetual state of competing/comparing/controlling/craziness that put me so close to the edge, it is only by the grace of the God of my understanding I did not fall to the other side.
Today, as I accept perfection vs. progress, practice unconditional love and acceptance of self and others, life is much, much smoother. I schedule fun and relaxation as well as service and recovery time. I no longer put everything and everyone in front of my own self-care, sanity or serenity. I choose to live, be, act and enjoy much differently, and choose an attitude of gratitude. Life still presents challenges, dysfunction, chaos, etc. - today, I am better able to select healthy tools and hang in my own hula-hoop.
Happy Thursday to all from a fellow grateful Al-Anon member! Love and light - we deserve it so why not?
__________________
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
So, right, the reading is about being easy on ourself.
Locked up between blame and shame. Locked up between the 'what-ifs' and the 'if-onlys'.
It's about being locked up. Broken. Stuck.
I am here to drink, and to drink deep... the more I drink the more I get.
And I am talking about drinking clear sweet water. Not, at all, that other kind of drinking.
SO and the kids have gone off to do some shopping. I joined the party late. I am hanging back, and hanging out with myself. Our grand-daughter is at school. Later we are going to all go out together and do some hot pools. Most likely, anyway.
We do deserve it, IAm. Not always are we on guard. Just in case we miss the answer, when it comes.
The answers are always close at hand. They always were.
Hi everyone, I back from the depths, some times the depths of despair. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, was so stressed with it all. I had to get a new Computer, and am now learning to navigate it.
I read that reading, and thought to myself, that I do both, like the reader says they did. It relieved the pressure that I had built up on myself, not handling everything the way I wanted to. I didn't feel I was passing the "test'. Because of My Perfectionism, { am trying to recover} I really loved that reading, and helped me take the pressure off myself, just knowing, that someone else does it just like me.
Am I glad to be back here and a part of my Family again, "OH Yes"
Thank you IAH For your service and wonderful share. I am learning more and more how to just stay in my own lane, accept reality for what it is
I can be kind and loving but that means to be kind and loving to me as I recover from the latest severe back spasms where I had to go get a shot to put me out of my misery and pain, I am working within the boundaries of what I can do and thats it. There are chores I could do today but because of my need for more rest and stretching and recovery, those Chores can wait. Even when I was taking care of Linda, I set boundaries on myself to match my limited abilities with this latest injury. I am learning that love and peace and light begins within me
Thank you IAH for your service and for all great shares above. I can relate to being way too serious. As I look back on my teen early adult years, I rarely smiled or laughed. Very little seemed funny. Now I'm laughing often. I'm able to see the humor in things as well as myself.
I can also relate to beating myself up for many years. That's what I was taught to do so it took a very long time to learn a different way to treat myself. Program allows me to make mistakes, not be perfect, and to be gentle with myself. Program offers me much wisdom to learn from.
S