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.
In today's reading from C2C, the author shares that their own vision can be limited. Sometimes, it seems that the only possible outcomes are the ones we can imagine ourselves. In the author's case, thankfully, their Higher Power is not limited by the author's own lack of imagination. Sometimes, the most wonderful events grow out of apparent disasters.
However, faith in a Higher Power takes practice, and fears can grow large. Sometimes, the author gets lost in their own limited thinking. Today's author uses prayer as a way to demonstrate their willingness to be helped by a Higher Power that does not have such a limited perspective. Through experience, the author has learned that miracles can happen when they turn their will and life over to their Higher Power.
Todays Reminder: I have an important part to play in my relationship with my Higher PowerI have to be willing to receive help, and I have to ask for it. If I develop the habit of turning to my Higher Power for help with small, everyday matters, Ill know what to do when faced with more difficult challenges.
Today's Quote: In the hour of adversity be not without hope For crystal rain falls from black clouds. Persian poem
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I especially like the part of today's reading that says that our Higher Power is not limited by our lack of imagination. Sometimes, like the author, I have a very limited Imagination, and I think that only a few outcomes are possible. This can lead me down the path of deciding which of those possible outcomes I want, and then trying to control things that are clearly outside of my control, so the outcome I want can happen. When I find myself going down the path of imagining possible outcomes, now, I stop myself. When I let my thoughts go in that direction, I know I'm setting myself up for a struggle. If, instead, I show up authentically in each moment, and do the best I can in the moment, the long-term results are often better than my wildest imagination could have envisioned. I know for myself that the slippery slope of trying to control uncontrolable things starts with my focus on the outcomes I can imagine, so that's why I stop myself there. I know from experience that the outcomes I can imagine are not even close to the wonderful things that can occur if I give up my control.
It was finally warm enough yesterday to get out for a walk! I was beyond thrilled! So was my young, fury companion. We are in for a warm up, so I'm hoping the snow will melt from wherever it is that is causing my back door to freeze shut over night. (Summer project, there!) Today, I'm back at the ice melting project with a hair drier.
I hope you make today a good day!
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Skorpi
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. - Lao Tzu
Thanks for your service and share Skorpi. Not only can my mind be limited, but another word that came to mind was rigid. My attempts to have control over people and situations led me to have a very rigid state of mind, and because obviously I could not control anything else, these futile attempts just helped me to feel out of control. Thanks to my HP and program, these times of faulty thinking are fewer and far between. A perfect example happened today. Im traveling to be near my son today, and I have to return a day early to obtain my second vaccine. Now a huge snowstorm is coming tomorrow, and yet I have to leave on Friday. I could feel the anxiety creeping in. I just had to , and will continue to, let go and let God. I cannot control the snow, the cleaning of the roads, etc. Im going to trust HP to get me home safely and receive my second vaccine.
I really resonated with your explanation of "the path of imagining outcomes." I wasted so much of my time doing this!! I used to believe it was so that I could be "prepared." Now I understand that it was/is really me trying to control the situation. I do my best to recognize this, and do the opposite!
Lyne - Good luck this week. I hope that you will be able to get your second round without any hassles (weather or otherwise). Be prepared that your body's response to the second dose may be more formidable.
Happy Hump Day!
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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
Happy Hump Day MIP. Thank you Skorpi for your service and the daily. Thank you all for your ESH & shares. I am reminded that my own 'go-to' style is pragmatic & realistic. While this is an awesome style for business and my former many professional roles, it's not always the best for life.
I can vividly recall how limited I felt in my life when I came to Al-Anon. I often asked myself, is this all there is? Is this the way my life is to be? Of course, my outlook at the time was bleak as I viewed the future through the only lens I had, the past. I had no idea how to be present, in the here and now at all. When others suggested I stay present, set aside the past and the future, it did not compute. When others suggested trusting in a power greater than self, I truly wondered if they were insane.
Only because I felt so defeated and so hopeless did I attempt to just listen at meetings. Only because I think I had truly hit my bottom did I attempt to practice some suggestions from those meetings and others who were present. I had absolutely no idea how to turn my will and life over the a power greater than I, and just didn't know what to think of 'that' simply because I had spent so many years relying on self-will and right-fighting everything and everyone.
Positive change resulting from practicing suggestions in this program came slowly for and not ever in a straight line. I am just as baffled by this disease and the diseased as I was when I arrived, yet today, can step back and pause just long enough to detach before I emotionally entangle. It's so not easy, yet so rewarding when I am able to trust in the God of my understanding and allow others to do the same. There is still a part of me that believes I know best for me and others...it's a battle at times to let go and let God, yet I know from experience that it's worth it.
I have come to realize how much I dislike shopping for a car. I am starting to understand why I tend to buy a reliable vehicle and then drive it until it dies. While many dealerships have advanced to the present and disclose all costs, some still play games. Trying to just get a realistic quote can be like pulling teeth. I'm taking this day off from this process as well as dealing with my insurance over my car. I don't like feeling as if I am being taken advantage of and both of these processes aren't 'feeling good' at the moment. Love that our progress suggests, 'when in doubt, don't' - that's exactly where I am, just for today.
Love and light to all....hope all in the path of these persistent storms/weather stay safe. We are still doing what we've been doing for almost a year now - staying home and staying distant. (((Hugs)))
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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
Hi Skorpi, loved this sharing and reading all the others, I get an awful lot out of this online program. When I first came into Al-Anon, My God had to make me pliable, before I had to become teachable. I also had to hit a real painful rock bottom. Because I was felt so responsible for so many others all my life, it was very hard to let go.
So after many, many years learning, I use this prayer for myself each day, that helps me keep my feet on my own ground and not on others.
Dear God, I place myself, my life, and my will, in Your Hands, Please show me what you want me to do, how to do it, and Please, guide my thoughts and then let them guide my actions, and help me to think before I speak.
Thank you, Wendy.
Also, to be responsible for the efforts,
Not the results.
With all of that I feel I have done all I can, and then leave things in His Hands.
Love to all, I know that the snow isn't pleasant for a lot of you, but how I would just love to see it, and make a snowman. Please stay safe and warm.
