QUESTION???

[MajestyJo]

You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.

November 14

Letting Our Anger Out

It's okay to be angry, but it isn't healthy to be resentful. Regardless of what we learned as children, no matter what we saw role modeled, we can learn to deal with our anger in ways that are healthy for us and for those around us. We can have our angry feelings. We can connect with them, own them, and feel them, express them, release them, and be done with them.

We can learn to listen to what anger is telling us about what we want and need in order to take care of ourselves.

Sometimes we can even indulge in angry feelings that aren't justified. Feelings are just feelings; there is no morality in the feeling, only in our behavior. We can feel angry without hurting or abusing others or ourselves. We can learn to deal with anger in ways that benefit our relationships instead of ways that harm them.

If we don't feel our angry feelings today, we will need to face them tomorrow.

Today, I will let myself feel my anger. I will express my anger appropriately, without guilt. Then I will be done with it.

Today I know that whatever ability, talents and energy I have are perfect for this moment. Today I know that God gives me all that I need to do what he wants me to do in this day. --Ruth Fishel

Didn't realize that resentments were the underlying force behind anger. It is okay to be angry, but we can't hold onto it.

When I find myself resentful, I need to pray for the other person. They may not change, but I will, if I am honest and sincere.

Do I hold onto my resentment or am I willing to let them go?

Many people resent Christmas and the holiday season. They have resentments against family members, and isolate during the season, or go out and drown their feelings instead of dealing with them.

[MajestyJo]

Each Day a New Beginning

Surviving meant being born over and over. --Erica Jong

We have decided to live. And each day we make the decision anew. Each time we call a friend, work a Step, or go to a meeting, we are renewing our contract with life. We are being reborn. Before coming to this program we died, emotionally and spiritually, many times. Some of us nearly died physically. But here we are, starting a new day, looking for guidance from one another. We are the survivors. And survival is there for the taking.

We will have days when we struggle with our decision to live. We will want to throw in the towel. We will want to give in or give up. But we've learned from one another about choices. And the choice to survive, knowing we never have to do it alone, gets easier with time.

I am one of the survivors. Today is my day for celebration.

Are you a survivor?

[MajestyJo]

Journey to the Heart

The Answer May Be Right in Front of You

It was late at night. I had just pulled into Chimayo, New Mexico. The streets were poorly lit, addresses and signs were difficult to see. I had been driving around for what seemed like hours, looking for an address. Finally, in desperation. I stopped the car, got out, and flagged someone down. A man stopped, but said he couldn’t help me. I was at my wits end. I turned around, staring frantically at the mailbox in front of me. To my surprise, I was right where I wanted to go.

How often we wave our hands in panic and despair, certain the answer, the insight, the piece of information we need will never come. Yet often the answer we’re seeking is right in front of us.

There’s a part of us, our heart, that knows where we’re going, knows what we need, knows what the next step is. Our heart will lead us on. Our soul will move us forward. Our instincts will take us home like a radar signal beaming us to safety.

Feel your panic. Feel your frustration. But keep your eyes and your heart open. The answer may be closer than you think– maybe it’s right in front of you.

Do you do the next right thing?

This reminds me that last night I did a meditation, and then proceeded to do what I wanted any way. That process was nothing, but sit and watch some of the Olympics.

[MajestyJo]

Today's Reminder - Courage to Change January 21

I no longer have to wait until my health, my financial situation, or my emotional state collapses before paying attention to my needs. Today I cn practice becoming more aware of what my inner voice is trying to teach me. I can listen and learn.

"Don't listen to friends when the Friend inside you says, 'Do This!'"

Mahatma Gandhi

Do you listen?

Just thought this was special. It is about me being in tune with me and connected to my Higher Power.

There are still times that I can have a running debate with myself. Why should I doubt and debate the Voice within when I have ask for guidance and direction? Duh! Best I be quiet! As the slogan says, "Hesitate and Meditate." Listen and Learn!

Remember the article, "Listen to what I am not saying." Often body language and actions, speak much louder than words.

Would treat myself, and then I saw that I was spoiling myself, and found myself back in the "I" and had let go and allow my God to direct my path. The gifts were large and small, from a sunbeam to a new apartment. I can't hear if I am shut down.

[MajestyJo]

Knowing myself

Asking for help when I need it and acting on my own when I don't

Admitting when I'm wrong and making amends

Accepting love from others, even if I'm having a tough time loving myself

Recognizing that I always have choices, and taking responsibility for the ones I make

Seeing that life is a blessing

Having an opinion without insisting that others share it

Forgiving myself and others

Recognizing my shortcomings and my strengths

Having the courage to live one day at a time

Acknowledging that my needs are my responsibility

Caring for people without having to take care of them.

Accepting that I'll never be finished - I'll always be a work-in-progress.

- Courage to Change (Al-Anon)

Today's Reminder:

Today I can spin a little silk and let it grace everything I touch. I don't have to look back to past ugliness except to learn from it, to enhance the present, and to release whatever beauty is trapped behind old secrets and self-defeating attitudes. One day at a time I can delight in the splendid person I am becoming.

"Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing in loveliness...until it flowers again from within..." - Galway Kinnell

originally posted on my site Soundness of Mind

Do you know yourself? A good reason to do a Step Four.