My last post was regarding how blue I had been feeling. I am relieved to say my spirits have lifted. Many things contributed to the freedom I now feel, but the primary "lifter" was a comment from a loving friend who walks the path I am on. He was God-sent, that day. I'm sure of it. I think God is always sending help. We simply don't always "see" it or accept it. I knew my friend's words were Truth and I was more than eager to allow them to recharge my perception. As I left the meeting, I knew my heart had been touched. The veil of darkness was l[...]
Category
What I Believe – You and Your Higher Power
0 I have been in a funk the last couple of weeks. And I hate it. I was reminded today, while reading my ACIM book, that we are always in the right place at the right time. And then at the AA meeting an hour later, the topic was the now. Readjusting my vision and aligning my attitude with those two ideas is the assignment. Not just today but every day. I surprisingly feel far better already. I know well the slogan: this too shall pass. I repeat it to others regularly. However, I need the nudge from those same others to remember it myself on occasio[...]
WE CAN NOT CHANGE THE WORLD DIRECTLY, BUT WE CAN CHANGE HOW WE SEE THE WORLD AND THEN THE WORLD CHANGES TOO. When I was first introduced to this principle, I failed to understand it. I had always believed that it was our task to change the world. What I now understand the statement to mean is that changing how we think must come first and when we have changed that, our behavior changes and the world then reflects those changes. It’s clear, we have work to do. There is much in the world that needs changing, from my perspective. But I want to be clear,[...]
Feeling hopeless about a situation in your life makes all forward movement seem impossible. It’s not an accident that we have people around us who can share our sorrows and express hope for us when our own is depleted. Our lives are quite intentional, aren’t they? As has been said many times, nothing is happening accidentally. When one of us is down, another person appears who can show us the rainbow that’s hidden from our view. She didn’t appear haphazardly. She had an assignment. And you are fulfilling that “assignment” on occasion too fo[...]
Envision how your life could or would look if you paid more attention to it, rather than to the life of someone else. Might you change careers, go back to school, downsize your home, pick up a hobby that you have always secretly longed to do but for which you felt you had too little time? Dream big. Be daring with your thoughts. Dreaming doesn’t commit you to fulfilling the desired change yet, but it is the hook that can pull you into forward motion. I have a friend who decided to take up ballroom dancing a few years ago. Her spouse wasn’t interested, but s[...]
A beautiful passage in a spiritual book I am committed to reading on a daily basis included these lines a few days ago: To everyone I offer quietness; to everyone I offer peace of mind; to everyone I offer gentleness. I was moved by the wisdom and the Holiness of these words. I am also convinced that if everyone were to live by them, we'd eliminate war, family dysfunction, community chaos, bullying, even divorce, perhaps. For certain, hearts and minds would be completely changed. One of the key elements here is to remember that what we "do to one," we do[...]
Coming to understand and then appreciate the truth of this statement has released me from many hours, even days, of pain and uncertainty. Perhaps I need to clarify this belief I so cherish. I think that every action and every thought that's harbored by any one of us, 24/7, is reflecting a feeling of love or fear in that moment. Believing this has honestly changed my life. Let me explain. First of all, if I am verbally attacked by some one, I immediately remember that he or she is afraid in that moment, and quite likely afraid about some thing that has n[...]
Expectations are seductive. They can feel exciting. Consuming. Addictive. And like every other addiction known to humankind, the outcome can be disappointing, oftentimes to the point of personal destruction. Our expectations ensnare us because of our insecurities, I think. We want a certain person or situation or experience to satisfy us in a specific way, and that's destined to be a set-up for disappointment which is then commonly followed by resentment. i speak from a place of authority because of multiple past experiences with both expectations an[...]
For the fifth time in a year I am getting prepared to let a friend transition to the "home" we will all head to one day. She has been a very dear friend ever since she moved to Naples, where I spend seven months a year. We have shared many meetings, many movies, many meals, and many laughs over the past fifteen years. And to imagine our circle without her is difficult, very difficult. She simply was always present, sharing her experience, her strength and her hope with others. And there were hundreds she helped. I am so grateful that I believe in a "next[...]
I was at an AA meeting last night and a young woman with a handful of years shared the above acronym: w.a.i.t. Why am I talking? It really stopped me in my tracks. It's one I had never heard in all my years on this journey and I needed to hear it. I know I talk more than I listen; to God and to everyone else too. In the stillness are the answers to every thing. In the stillness I will find the peace my soul desires and deserves. In the stillness my heart finds rest. Thank you, dear Jenny for the wisdom. We never know when we will hear just what[...]