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.
Todays reading is about resentments that may be a result of growing up/living in an alcoholic home and how we might address them in order to live a more positive and serene life. The writer describes anger toward his/her parents that was difficult to express; instead it was tamped down and stewed into a resentment. Over time, and through program work, the writer understood that there were things which could actively be done on his/her part rather than have expectations of others. In the writers case, he/she stopped getting mired in the business of other people (writers parents) and started paying more attention to his/her own personal inventory.
This reading got me thinking about how many of us who have lived in alcoholic homes develop a need to control (situations and other people), and one of the freedoms that result from working a program in Alanon is realizing that control can come from dealing with our own selves. What can I control/change? What cant I? Whats the difference? This idea in terms of making amends to others is also addressed in the quotation from Al-Anon is for Adult Children of Alcoholics (p.16): Let me remember that the reason for making amends is to free my own mind of uneasiness
