I have been a proponent of the concept of detachment for many years now. I know, from my personal life, the devastation of being overly "attached" to people, to their moods, their opinions, their actions. I developed this trait as a very young girl and it followed me into my first marriage. I was certain "you" were about to reject me so I clung as I tight as I could. Fortunately, and I do mean fortunately, everyone I clung to managed to escape. It wasn't until years later that I was able to understand what had given rise to my drive to hang on to "you,"[...]
Category
Karen’s Musings
4 I love the simplicity of this solution to whatever is getting under my skin at the moment. Any moment. I well remember being given the small blue booklet titled Acceptance when I came into the 12 step rooms of recovery back in the mid 70's. The first time I read it, it offered great relief and on every subsequent reading too. I experienced a big sigh of relief washing over me, in fact. Acceptance was such a simple suggestion but it moved me in a profound way. I had never before felt hope at such a deep level. I knew, without a doubt, that something p[...]
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[...]
My life has markedly improved since embracing the idea of surrendering to the uncontrollable, (and all things separate from me are uncontrollable by me) rather than insisting my opinions, my way of doing any task, my outlook on life, particularly on how others should see life too, are the only reasonable choices. As Marianne says in the above quote, something amazing indeed does happen when we give up or give in, when we let go and release. “Stepping aside,” letting what is, be, rather than bulldozing our way over or through the situations that have drawn our[...]
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[...]
It has been suggested to me from many sources lately that perhaps I need to say "no" on occasion when asked to speak or be of service in some other way. It's not that I resist the idea but at the time of any invitation, whether it's to speak at a meeting, visit with a sponsee, travel across country to do a workshop, or participate in a social activity; I always want to say yes. It never feels, at the time of the invitation, that no is an option I want to take. However, I am rethinking this for a number of reasons. One is that I have felt really exhausted[...]
There's really no one explanation why we feel "on top of the world" some days and not others. Today is one of my mediocre days. It started out great. I had breakfast with a friend and her guests who were visiting from Omaha. We had a delightful conversation, very engaging in fact. However, when I got home I resisted doing any thing. I looked over the workshop I am presenting on the sacred moment this week end in PA and then simply sat, looking first at one magazine and then another. I wasn't engaged in any of them or ironically, the sacred moment ei[...]
A woman I have not actually met wrote to me recently in regard to one of my posts that dealt with my physical pain. It's not easy to live with pain of any kind but it does help to talk about it, as I did in that post, and to get feed-back from others who understand. The pain is miraculously lessened when we do this even if we have different kinds of conditions. The "shared experience" simply makes whatever we are undergoing more tolerable. It's not that misery loves company but rather, just knowing that someone else cares and is "holding us up" toward a pl[...]
I was honored at a Recovery luncheon today sponsored by Hazelden Foundation. The luncheon was held here in Naples, FL but it was in response to the work I have done for more than three and a half decades as the result of my own recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon. As I stood before the audience to accept my award, I could barely see through the tears as they flowed. How did this happen? All I can surmise is that it happened because of God's plan for my life. That first drink at age 13 started me down a path that has landed me in the most beauti[...]
I have needed to change my focus with great intention, lately. That's because I have been dealing with chronic pain for many months, for more than two years, actually. And it may be a condition that will remain unchangeable. I have not ignored the options for dealing with it. I have received radio frequency ablation to no avail. I have had many steriod shots too . I have done physical therapy and acupuncture. But the pain persists. My solution, today, is to place my attention on Spirit. Not body. What I am discovering is that changing my focus s[...]