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,[...]
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Circle of Family and Friends – You and Your Personal Community
0 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[...]
How very sorry I am that I have been away so long from blogging. I periodically get caught up in other avenues of my life and let this connection with you slide. It's not because I don't care about this activity. I love writing, of all kinds, in all settings. In fact, I have just recently finished another book. It's soon to go to the printer. This one is being published by Conari, the same publisher I have used for the last few books. Having a great relationship with a publisher, when you are a writer, is so important. I've been extremely lucky to[...]
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WOW!
"Wow!" supposedly was the final utterance of Steve Jobs, Apple's founder, according to his wife. Whether that's true or not, I choose to believe it. The affirmation that there is something beyond this world, something worthy of a wow, pleases me. I already believed it but we seldom get a message that so clearly affirms that there is something more. I hope that when I pass over, I'm just as inclined to say wow. But it's this life that needs our "Wows" now. And there are myriad situations every day that are worthy of a wow. The "accidental" meeting of[...]
How little I understood the concept of "letting go" when I first saw the slogan: Let Go, Let God, on the wall of an Al-Anon meeting nearly forty years ago. It sounded so simple. I didn't consider myself "attached" to any one or any thing. In reality, my feelings, thus often my actions, were attached to the behavior of everyone. Absolutely everyone! I was so enmeshed in who ever was present that I couldn't even recognize it. Whatever any one did or said had an impact on me. And the closer they were to me, the greater the impact. I had been introduc[...]
Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community, What I Believe - You and Your Higher Power
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“I am here only to be truly helpful . . .”
This is the first line of a prayer that I say every morning. And I use this line as a "stand alone" throughout the day when I feel uncertain about the situation I am faced with. I believe, completely, that each person on the planet is here to be only helpful, helpful to every other person who is encountered throughout the day. How simple this makes our "assignment." How manageable this makes the experiences we get to have every day. The prayer offers me instant relief, actually. And everyone of us deserves a life that is free from angst and fear and u[...]
Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself
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Defining our boundaries, AND THEN LIVING ACCORDINGLY, cultivates peace of mind.
In a response I received from an earlier post, a request was made for my thoughts on boundaries. This topic has been rolling around in my mind ever since. I've found myself questioning what it is that I really believe. What does my own behavior reflect? It's a word that I use often, particularly when talking to sponsees or other friends. You hear the word in 12 step meetings quite often. Establishing good boundaries, i.e.., lines not to be crossed, when it comes to certain people, subjects or activities, makes for an honest interchange of ideas and mo[...]
Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself
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We get just what we need. Really?
How many times have I repeated this phrase to a friend, a sponsee, a family member? More times than I can count. And I believe it. For them. And occasionally for me too. However, I am struggling with a situation currently that I am not ready to embrace as something I need. I know what I need to do. Darn it! I need to be grateful for it, for the lesson it is offering me, and for the growth that's promised as the result of the situation. But right now, I want to resist. I want to make someone else responsible. I want to say, "Not fair. I don'[...]
I think enthusiasm for some element in our life is the key to having the desire to get up everyday. And as the years pass, particularly as we enter what for me has become the final stage of life, I know I must have passion for doing something not attempted before or working to enhance a skill already present to keep my enthusiasm churning. I can’t simply do over and over again what I have already done so many times before. This doesn’t mean that what I have spent my life doing has lost its value. On the contrary. It only means that at some point, ent[...]
Probably everyone reading this post has made a lot of mistakes over the years. Life isn’t always pretty, at least mine wasn’t. It’s not expected to be, in fact, but far too many of us never quit blaming ourselves for mistakes of the past. For some of us every mistake became a tragedy of epic proportions, even when that wasn’t the case. And most often it wasn’t the case. Many mistakes were simply pebbles on the learning curve of life. Pebbles that might have tripped us, but certainly not big enough pebbles to throw our entire life into a shadow[...]