Today is September 26, 2005 A Great Day for Recovery!
PAIN
"You can't hold a man down without staying down with him." -- Booker T. Washington
I know who was holding me down in my life. I was. I know who was bringing pain and sadness in my life. I was. I know who was making me the victim of addiction. I was. I would beat myself up and then complain about the bruises!
I did this because I could not "see". I had not accepted or understood the implications of my alcoholism. Today I am beginning to take care of myself because I have accepted my disease. I do not choose today to be the enemy in my life -- I have surrendered to live. I do not want to hurt anymore. I do not want to hide in guilt and fear anymore. I do not choose to be my victim today.
God, I thank You for the freedom to determine my life and my victories.
“If I get to pick what I want to do, then it's play... if someone else tells me that I have to do it, then it's work.”
-- Patricia Nourot
Are you continually struggling to accomplish what is expected of you? If so, stop to think for a moment: who holds those expectations?
Perhaps you’re trying to meet the expectations of a parent or a teacher or other authority figures who may be long gone from your life. But many of us toil under the critical eyes of a vague ‘somebody’ who always judges that we’ve never done enough or done things well enough. Who is this phantom judge? And do we need to care about what they think any longer?
We find both our own power and happiness when we begin to set our own standards around what has heart and meaning for us.
“Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.”
