I have spent long hours thinking about and then treasuring all the encounters I have had in my nearly 75 years of living. In my youth, it never dawned on me, of course, that the people I met "had been sent;" had been part of the divine journey that was mine and only mine. Even as a young adult I didn't understand why my life was unfolding as it did. Now that I know the "back story" as a result of reading the books of Caroline Myss, I have had reasons, many of them, to revisit my past. Reviewing the myriad memories, focusing specifically on those experienc[...]
4 I looked at the date of my last post and was shocked. It has been over a month since I connected with the readers of this blog. Please accept my apology. Travel took me away from this particular task and then regrouping after all the travel took it's toll too. I am becoming a bit more aware of my aging body every trip, it seems. My dilemma is that I love, absolutely love what I do when I am on the road facilitating workshops. Connecting in such an intimate way with the thousands of women and men over the years has fed my soul. It has fed my curiosity[...]
Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community, Reflections in the Mirror - You and Yourself
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One’s path is divine. . .
I wouldn't have agreed with this idea prior to recovery. I wasn't "a believer." Random acts ruled, as far as I was concerned. I don't remember any more when I began to shift my perspective. Perhaps I had grown ready for the change in thinking when I came into Al-Anon in 1974. At least the talk about a Higher Power didn't scare me away. I'm guessing I was simply so tired of searching for security that what was offered in this new spiritual concept seemed pretty good. At least it didn't scare me off. And now I can't imagine trying to live my life with[...]
I find such comfort in the idea that we are "here, now," intentionally. I love the awareness that whomever I meet, only casually or quite seriously, was sent. In fact, I had "requested" the meeting at a time and in a space I have long since forgotten about. My first sponsor told me this in 1976. I completely dismissed the idea then. In fact, I felt uncomfortable around her for a time. Her spiritual beliefs often seemed farfetched to me. She was a psychic. She did readings and healings for women and men. Many in our circle of friends relied on he[...]
At the present time I have a very good friend and sponsee from the north visiting. She is dear to my heart and has been for all 25 years of her recovery. I met her at her first AA meeting, in fact, so have been able to observe her throughout her long sobriety. The past four or five years of her recovery have been tough ones, unfortunately. The thought of drinking hasn't been the problem, but obsessive anxiety has her by the tail. It has taken the joyful person I had known for twenty of these 25 years away. And I know she isn't the only person who suffe[...]
Over the years I have received hundreds, actually thousands of comments about the various blog posts I have written. It's my guess that you don't really think that your comment is any thing very special, but I want to assure you that the opposite is true. So very true. Knowing that we have made a connection is the encouragement I need to keep reaching out to you. It's also the very act that adds a bit more healing on this very pain-torn planet. As we reach out to each other we are joining hands around the globe, making the circle sacred that touches eac[...]
I was at my AA home group this morning. The topic was acceptance, a frequent choice, it seems. And what's unmistakably true is that it's a necessary choice if we want to experience peace. At no time in life will we be peaceful if we haven't cultivated the practice of acceptance. The good news is that once acceptance has been thoroughly cultivated, all we ever need to quietly remember is the phrase, "Let go." At that point, God, ever so subtly, steps in. Even sitting here writing this nudges me to drop my shoulders in a sign of acceptance. Handing ove[...]
Some days I simply want to say to the world around me: SLOW DOWN, DOGGONE IT. Perhaps my resistance to the passage of time is that I too often have my mind somewhere else, rather than on the moment that's being given to me. Each moment is a gift. The decision to open each gift slowly, grasping all that it is offering, is available to me. Always. And no one can make the decision for me. No one. I have slipped away from the security of NOW these last few weeks. I think my consternation about my future, and how I want it to look, has taken me "off-cou[...]
My husband and I relocated to Florida in January, 1991. I had resigned from my job in July of 1990, freeing us to leave MN and head to a warm climate for the winter. We chose Florida because I had a sister who lived here in the winter months too. I'm still thrilled with this choice and feel even more committed to it as the years pass. However, they are passing way too quickly. I was 51 when we came. I'll see 75 in a few months, God willing, as the saying goes. There won't be another 24 like the last 24. Of that I'm certain. I have no intention o[...]
Are you content, right here, right now? If you aren't, (and I surely don't claim to be content every moment, ) then you have some work to do. It's our responsibility, and only our responsibility, to reach a place of contentment moment by moment. When we put the burden on others to make us content, we chance driving them away. And if they aren't driven away, at the very least they will begin to resent us. And rightly so. We don't want the burden of making others happy on our shoulders, so we shouldn't put it on the shoulders of others to make us happy[...]