I am so happy to welcome all of you to this site, the ones who have been here before and all of you who have just stumbled on to it today. I love the connection I can make with all of you here. Connection is what makes this life truly worth living. Because I am an author and my words are read by people I seldom have the good fortune to meet "in the flesh," it's so gratifying that I hear from readers through emails, snail mail, phone calls and now here on this blog site too. I can assure you that every writer wants to know she or he has made a connection wi[...]
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Your Experience, Strength and Hope
7 I just returned from a Hazelden Women Healing Conference that was held in downtown Chicago. I have referred to these women's conferences in other blogs. They are wonderful gatherings that are generally attended by two or three hundred women. The first day of the conference is geared for the professionals who are working with women in some phase of the treatment setting. The second day is a celebratory day for all women in recovery and the talks are educational as well as motivational and inspirational. CEU credits are available on both days which is an a[...]
I love this simple reminder from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. It has been the perfect response to sponsees who are fretting about their future. And, it is the best reminder I, too, can utilize for my own occasional fretting. I say occasional because I seldom get overwhelmed about the future these days. All I really have to do is take a moment to recall what God has done for me in the past week. I know that my needs, every day, are being attended to. And when I extend my vision far into the past, the examples of how God revealed himself are cou[...]
It's a gift, perhaps, but it's a terribly hard gift to be grateful for if we have just had a truck accident like the one my nephew had a few days ago. (see the blog on "split second" to get the details) How could that be a gift, you might say? How I explain a situation like that to myself is to believe that a great lesson was being offered even within the accident. The lesson might have been: the value of sleep can't be underestimated. Or that letting your eyes waver from the road, even for a nanosecond, can lead to disaster. Or maybe the lesson is that Ed[...]
Often we hear a person say, "Wow, is that a coincidence!" I say it too, actually, but now I mean some thing quite different from what I used to mean. I have quit believing in "coincidences," in the traditional sense. When I first heard others in 12 step rooms say that there are no coincidences, only God's anonymous interventions, I passed it off as nonsense. I was sure I had had many coincidences in my life. Now I know that my Higher Power, whom I choose to call God, has intervened on many occasions, creating coincidences that were life-sustaining, or I[...]
Helping others is one of the greatest opportunities that presents itself. Most of us experience joy when we have been able to ease the journey for some one else. But there does come a time when we have to ask ourselves if we are helping or hindering the journey another person is here to make. I have had to learn this the hard way. I was a master enabler. Perhaps this is a new term for you. It means to help another person "to a fault." I used to easily get emotionally ensnared by others whom I thought couldn't live without my direction, my protection,[...]
Simple things we can do now to change our perceptions and become more hopeful. 1. Ask God for help. 2. Let go! 3. Surrender to God what ever is demanding your attention. 4. Do one thing to inspire joy in some one else’s life every day! And make a note of this in a small note book. 5. Choose kindness in every encounter and feel it change your heart. 6, When feeling hopeless, recall a fond memory and allow it to change your perception. 7. Make a gratitude list to help you recall the good that has already happened. Make this a daily exercise. 8. Praying[...]
At a gathering last night we were discussing how emotionally wounded most of us had been at some point on our journey. This led to the realization that most "sufferers" have experienced their woundedness within a very intimate relationship. For some the wound is unhealed. For others, seeing it from a new perspective offered hope. Many of the wise among us (Caroline Myss comes to mind) say all relationships are quite intentional in fact, which implies that the wounds might well be intentional too. This may seem like a far-fetched idea. It certainly was t[...]
EVERY EXPERIENCE IS OFFERING THE NEXT “RIGHT” LESSON AND THE RIGHT PARTNER TO LEARN IT WITH. This idea can be exceedingly comforting. The past is not a pretty sight for many of us who finally wander into the rooms of recovery. My early life was replete with experiences that were ugly, oftentimes dangerous, and according to others, on the edge of insanity far too often. But I survived them all and I have a story that has, on occasion, been helpful to some one who has come to me for guidance. I developed hope eventually, hope that my life could be as sa[...]
Every person we travel these roads with have made their trek to us because they need us and what we know as much as we need them for what they can teach us. This idea has been stressed in earlier essays but it’s one worth further emphasis because of the importance of the journey we share. Knowing that every person is specific to our education means we don’t have to be fearful about the experiences that present themselves. We have been guided to each experience and we will be led through it too. I have heard it said in many gatherings, that God never bri[...]