My newest book: LIVING LONG, LIVING PASSIONATELY, 75 (and counting)WAYS TO BRING PEACE AND PURPOSE TO YOUR LIFE, was released Sept 1 by Conari and is available on Amazon and in bookstores. I am thrilled with it. I guess I'd have to say that I have been thrilled about every book I have published, but this one does feel a bit different. Perhaps that's because it's not specifically for folks in recovery, although I'd have to say that every book I have written has quite miraculously appealed to a wider audience than just recovering folks. This fact has convinc[...]
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Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself
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“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.”
I’m sure this quote by Buddah isn’t an unfamiliar idea. Perhaps you didn’t attribute it to him but undoubtedly you have heard an idea similar to this uttered many times over your life. It’s a popular notion among psychologists and psychiatrists. Gurus of the self-help movement have relied on it for years as the explanation of why people behave as they do. It’s also considered the easiest way for people to change aspects of their behavior. “As we think so we are.” A book I wrote a few years ago, CHANGE YOUR MIND AND YOUR LIFE WILL FOLLOW[...]
The title of this post can mean many things, I suppose. In actuality, I do think that whatever tugs at your mind, regardless of who you are and where you are in your life, is the next thing that should get your attention. This is true if you are sitting at your desk at work or reading an email from a friend who is seeking your counsel. I have come to believe, emphatically, since embarking on this spiritual journey, that the "God" of my understanding is always in charge of whatever is trying to get my sincere attention. We all have people we need to meet,[...]
Karen's Musings, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself, What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power
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Our need for one another is what heals us. . .
Admitting our vulnerability, dare I say fear and feelings of inadequacy, is what opens the door to our healing. Of this I am certain. And yet, we all know folks who simply can't "go there." And each of us has been one of those people in the past. Maybe the very recent past, in fact. There is no shame in that. It's so very human of us to want to appear to be different than we really are, particularly if we think the stakes are high. And there is no shame in that either. Being human isn't all that easy at times. I have talked about my emotional roll[...]
It seems as though I have struggled more than usual this past year. It might surprise a lot of you to know that I have to work hard on maintaining a connection to my Higher Power. It has always been like this. Even as a child I lived with doubt about my future safety. When I discovered that writing gave me a sense of the presence of God, writing became far more than just an outlet for me. It became my profession. And 29 books later, it is still like my security blanket. Our family wasn't religious. Although I did go to Sunday School occasionally,[...]
Karen's Musings, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself, What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power
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A puppy update . . .
Nellie, our puppy, is getting both cuter and into more stuff as the days go by. I sure wish I had had children. I feel in the dark about so much of this training. Everyone keeps saying it's like having a baby. Well, never having had a child is a drawback, I can assure you. But she and I are figuring it out. One No! at a time. One treat at a time. Raising a puppy is kind of like getting sober, I have decided. You live in a place of doubt quite often. You think you are grasping the first step, and the next thing you know, you are trying to contr[...]
I was the moderator for an on-line meeting this morning and the topic was the above statement. I do know that when I am in a cranky mood, I need to take stock of all the good in my life. And were I to list it, I'd fill more than one page for sure. To begin with, I am so grateful to have a terrific husband to share my recovery journey. And for 39 years clean and sober, I am grateful beyond measure. May 24th, 1976, didn't seem like a particularly eventful day. But it marked the turning point in my life. I walked into my first AA meeting that evening[...]
How many times daily are you faced with a situation where you aren't sure what the right action or decision is? No doubt multiple times. At least I'd have to admit to that in my life. And yet, when I pause, even for a moment, I feel nudged in one direction or another. I have learned to accept that nudge as "the next right thing." Like so many of my friends, in the "rooms" and elsewhere, I don't actually hear the Voice of my Higher Power. I do think he/she is ever present, however; and I do think the subtle feeling I get to act is the messenger calling[...]
My husband and I bit the bullet. For years we talked about getting a dog. Everyone who had a dog said they are wonderful. And they also said they are a lot of work. We are finding out what an understatement that is. Her name is Nellie and she's a yellow lab, 11 weeks old. Whew! Does she have energy. And did I mention that we are 75 years old? The very first night, even though she didn't cry when we crated her, we had a touch of buyers' remorse. Our lives had suddenly changed. We think for the good. We think. But with the first small "acc[...]
After writing the last post I was reminded of all the folks I have known in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous who didn't meet with "success" on their first attempt at sobriety. And many of them simply got up, brushed themselves off, and tried all over again. Failure to stay clean and sober doesn't mean that success will always elude you. On the contrary, refusal to try again is all that prevents a person from meeting with success. It is guaranteed unless you allow failure to define you. One of my dearest friends in the rooms of AA "failed" to stay sobe[...]