Today's reading involves the powerful namesake of this daily reader. If we are feeling down, it's a good bet that we are ruminating over past, or forecasting a fearful future.
This is a negative, debilitating thinking pattern that is challenging, but not impossible, to adjust. Alanon can help us use our past pain and events to learn, and then unload them from our mental playlist.
Reminder: Awareness of our past missteps (action or non-action) can be used constructively to compel us toward acting with kindness and more wisdom from now on.
"I pray to be relieved of the compulsion to worry about the past, and that I may not let my pessimism paint black pictures of what may happen tomorrow. Keep in mind that we can live only in the present and that all the rest of life is either past or uncertain." - Unattributed --------------------------------- One day (shift, hour, car ride, minute, second...) at a time is a simple premise that has incredible power...If I am truly in this moment, I am unable to worry, be sad, angry or depressed.
The challenge, however, is to train my thoughts and not yield to the guilty pleasure (there is a temptation to dive in to worry, turn the mind loose and let it run unfettered in the fields of exaggerated speculation...If I'm not being honest I call it 'planning ahead').
Alanon and the 12 Steps provide the guidance I need: Admit my powerlessness, believe/remember that a power greater than myself can restore my sanity, turn my will over to a greater power...I don't have to worry or 'fix' anything, just get out of the way and be fully in this one moment.
Ah Serenity, there you are...
So grateful for the wisdom of Alanon
Ileana said
Apr 13, 2021
Thank you for posting this Enigmatic.
I feel depressed with this Covid stuff, here in France we are on quarantine again. So first I read it and thought 'nah, I have GOOD reasons to be depressed which is different'. Seems that I forgot the basics.
The future is not mine to control nor to predict.
But it will all be ok in the end ... because a greater power is in charge ...
Thank you for reading me,
Debb said
Apr 13, 2021
Thank you Paul for today's reading, your service and ESH.
Thank you Ileana for your share and ESH as well today.
I am ruminating right now!! We had to buy a new refrigerator and am anticipating issues with the new one!!
Thinking that if the new one has issues or we do not get it before the old one actually fully stops working
what will we do. There are medications that need to keep cold!! I am stressing to much, but ultimately
I am looking for cash and carry stores near us that we can buy a mini frig on short notice. If you can tell
I am stressed. But today's reading is helping to put things in perspective, everyone goes through this
type of issue in their lives so I will take it one day at a time and let go and let God!!
Thank you Al-Anon, MIP family and HP.
PosiesandPuppies said
Apr 13, 2021
Thank you Paul for your service, and thank you for those who shared.
I am a "planner." I like to have my ducks in a row, in case something negative happens. My sponsor taught me : 1. It is a form of controlling the uncontrollable, and 2. It isn't always a bad trait if you understand and accept #1, and work on staying in the present!
Damp here this morning... but in true CA in April fashion, it won't stay that way! Thinking of you Ileana.... use your pandemic protocols, and trust in your HP!
&
SunnyFrogs said
Apr 13, 2021
Good afternnon.
Phew,yesterday was a rough one for me. I was triggered by something so trivial(well obviously not so trivial in reality) and my PTSD symptoms instantly jumped into high gear. Every single thing from my past came rushing back and that was it, I was in meltdown mode the rest of the day. It was horrible but I am so grateful to not be feeling that way today.
That being said, most of the time(as long as there's not any PTSD symptoms happening) I do pretty good at not allowing myself to get pulled into all the negative anymore. I can keep my mind from dwelling on the past as well as not obsessing about the future. I am getting so much better at focusing on 'the power of now'(that's actually an excellent book if you haven't read it, it's by Eckhart Tolle,along with "practicing the power of now' book too). I am not perfect at it but doing much better with it. Practice practice practice
I am exhausted today. But I am sure others that struggle with PTSD know how draining "episodes" can be. I am going to spend the rest of the day taking it easy and practicing self care.
Hope everyone is having a good one today
DavidG said
Apr 13, 2021
Thanks Enig., Ileana, Debb, P., and Sunny...
A meeting from home is a great fillip... !!! Always was, I suppose...??? I have been here since 2012-
and what goes down here is surely growing on me! Being present; mindfulness; have become household words
these days. But this was always the bread and butter for Alanon for years...
...i think the slogan- which must have come from California, and the coast near Big Sur, surely?
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." I would change the second lat word to "my". To
remind me that my life is about me. I tis about others too, but that is not my primary focus. One
time I travelled through America looking for the American Dream. The last time was a rush job- dealing
with the death of our kid brother.
As I wrote I am looking at the morning news. We are a small compact country- and the daily news is
kind of crafted with a community feel. A fair bit of it is relevant. Not too much hustle and crisis. One
thing we end to do is to use first name everywhere. Our leader is Jacinda; the highest authority on earth
we used to call Liz and Phil. And now- there is only Liz. ...
Reading the paper- an old local farmer passed away last week. I miss people like that. Knew the family
fairly well.
My writing here is fairly free of typo's these days. I correct as I go along. I used to be pretty messy. The
"f" word I am using a lot at the moment is "fair". 'A fair few'. "Fairly good."
A world and family where things were fair was my plea and my goal. Not always possible... ...but I suppose
I could be a bastion of fairness and truth. Honesty. Love.
Thanks... ... ... ... ... ...
Iamhere said
Apr 13, 2021
Happy Tuesday MIP. Thank you Paul for your service and the daily. Thanks to all for your shares & ESH. I consider myself to be a reasonably smart person and yet, when I arrived at Al-Anon, and others suggested One Day at a Time, I truly thought they were bonkers. I've always been a planner - which isn't a bad thing. What made it unhealthy for me, is I planned outcomes also and when the God of my understanding had a different ending than what I projected, I did not handle 'it' well at all.
Al-Anon, especially this slogan, have given to me the gift of the here and now. I can't even begin to imagine how much of my resources - time, energy, emotion, etc. - have been spent in either the past or the future. Way... way... too... much! It is still natural for me to not be 'here/now', so it's an effort, yet one I freely embrace practicing this program.
Today, I can look back and smile or giggle at the me when I first arrived. I was so serious and so overwhelmed by everything disease related and life related. I'd call my sponsor and vent about all things, everything, anything, and she would consistently say to me, IAm, it's 3:55pm on Tuesday afternoon and we're on the phone together all truly all is well. Over and over and over again, her first response to my freaking out was to bring me right back to the here/now. I did not fully understand and probably even eye-rolled many times, yet she was spot on in helping me better get my head over my heart and my feet.
I am grateful for this program, for my recovery, for all of you and the improved relationship with a HP. I got to play golf league with 2 of my Aunts this morning which was lovely. I then left and came home for lunch and then played more golf with my nephew. I went straight from the golf course to get my first vaccine shot. Needless to say, all the planning I did - I didn't think through my clothing so had to strip 3 layers of long sleeves off to get the shot in my arm. I am certain the stranger sitting across from me thought I was crazy, half-dressed at a super-sized vaccine center -- I just laughed - grateful I did not know him or see anyone else that I know.
It's been a full day and that's OK for me - better than not, so I think. Love and light to all, (((hugs))) too.
Maresie888 said
Apr 13, 2021
Dear David
Big Sur is one of those seriously magical places
Esalen is a incredible resource
Many of my meditation teachers teach there
I felt incredibly relaxed and at the home in Big Sur. Nevertheless the qualifier managed to ruin that holiday. He had a soecial way of doing that .
Glad to applaud your reference point
Maresie
DavidG said
Apr 13, 2021
Maresie
I connected with Big Sur, through Kerouac, mostly.
And the Californian Poppy- which grow over here profusely-
bought over by the old 49ers.
One time I got a $2 book from a hospice shop- about gestalt-
which I relate to these great developments in therapy.
PAC- or TA being a pivotal one. But I worked through
that book on my own for a year- and started to get
centred-ness through my broken-ness which was a part
of the slow miracle which is me. However the ~Janet~
connection was a massive biggee for me! As a lot of us
there was 100% no talk about things of great moment-
or anything much at all in our lives. So such talk is gold
and diamonds, really. ...
Maresie888 said
Apr 13, 2021
Dear Paul
I have always had plenty of reason to worry. Mis steps are a way of life for me. I am trying to correct one of my misteps. It is very time consuming. Some relief arrives in a week when I will be taking time off. However some hills arrived so I have to regroup
Paying Bill's is a big priority for ne. So is avoiding chaos. Mis steps are s fact of life I.keep reminding myself
Bit this mis step brought even more fatigue to my already really stretched cause
Maresie
Maresie888 said
Apr 14, 2021
Dear David
Esalen is a legend and rightly so
I have only been by Esalen but never inside
I am a on looked
Unfortunately my schedule is such that I do not get time off. I am back to two jobs again in.fact I have three
Next week I will have sone time off but Inhave so much to do it is really hard
I hope sometime this will all let up. I am waiting on some more funds that will arrive next month
Being an essential worker had been incredibly difficult
In theory things will be returning to normal in Jibe but who.kniws. I have worked the whole time through moving out from my aoartment from moving back. Through many many jobs. I have charger jobs st least 4 times. Talk about gruelling
Two days at Big Sur would really help. No.chsbce of that
Today's reading involves the powerful namesake of this daily reader. If we are feeling down, it's a good bet that we are ruminating over past, or forecasting a fearful future.
This is a negative, debilitating thinking pattern that is challenging, but not impossible, to adjust. Alanon can help us use our past pain and events to learn, and then unload them from our mental playlist.
Reminder: Awareness of our past missteps (action or non-action) can be used constructively to compel us toward acting with kindness and more wisdom from now on.
"I pray to be relieved of the compulsion to worry about the past, and that I may not let my pessimism paint black pictures of what may happen tomorrow. Keep in mind that we can live only in the present and that all the rest of life is either past or uncertain." - Unattributed
---------------------------------
One day (shift, hour, car ride, minute, second...) at a time is a simple premise that has incredible power...If I am truly in this moment, I am unable to worry, be sad, angry or depressed.
The challenge, however, is to train my thoughts and not yield to the guilty pleasure (there is a temptation to dive in to worry, turn the mind loose and let it run unfettered in the fields of exaggerated speculation...If I'm not being honest I call it 'planning ahead').
Alanon and the 12 Steps provide the guidance I need: Admit my powerlessness, believe/remember that a power greater than myself can restore my sanity, turn my will over to a greater power...I don't have to worry or 'fix' anything, just get out of the way and be fully in this one moment.
Ah Serenity, there you are...
So grateful for the wisdom of Alanon
I feel depressed with this Covid stuff, here in France we are on quarantine again. So first I read it and thought 'nah, I have GOOD reasons to be depressed which is different'. Seems that I forgot the basics.
The future is not mine to control nor to predict.
But it will all be ok in the end ... because a greater power is in charge ...
Thank you for reading me,
Thank you Paul for today's reading, your service and ESH.
Thank you Ileana for your share and ESH as well today.
I am ruminating right now!! We had to buy a new refrigerator and am anticipating issues with the new one!!
Thinking that if the new one has issues or we do not get it before the old one actually fully stops working
what will we do. There are medications that need to keep cold!! I am stressing to much, but ultimately
I am looking for cash and carry stores near us that we can buy a mini frig on short notice. If you can tell
I am stressed. But today's reading is helping to put things in perspective, everyone goes through this
type of issue in their lives so I will take it one day at a time and let go and let God!!
Thank you Al-Anon, MIP family and HP.
I am a "planner." I like to have my ducks in a row, in case something negative happens. My sponsor taught me : 1. It is a form of controlling the uncontrollable, and 2. It isn't always a bad trait if you understand and accept #1, and work on staying in the present!
Damp here this morning... but in true CA in April fashion, it won't stay that way! Thinking of you Ileana.... use your pandemic protocols, and trust in your HP!
Phew,yesterday was a rough one for me. I was triggered by something so trivial(well obviously not so trivial in reality) and my PTSD symptoms instantly jumped into high gear. Every single thing from my past came rushing back and that was it, I was in meltdown mode the rest of the day. It was horrible but I am so grateful to not be feeling that way today.
That being said, most of the time(as long as there's not any PTSD symptoms happening) I do pretty good at not allowing myself to get pulled into all the negative anymore. I can keep my mind from dwelling on the past as well as not obsessing about the future. I am getting so much better at focusing on 'the power of now'(that's actually an excellent book if you haven't read it, it's by Eckhart Tolle,along with "practicing the power of now' book too). I am not perfect at it but doing much better with it. Practice practice practice
I am exhausted today. But I am sure others that struggle with PTSD know how draining "episodes" can be. I am going to spend the rest of the day taking it easy and practicing self care.
Hope everyone is having a good one today
A meeting from home is a great fillip... !!! Always was, I suppose...??? I have been here since 2012-
and what goes down here is surely growing on me! Being present; mindfulness; have become household words
these days. But this was always the bread and butter for Alanon for years...
...i think the slogan- which must have come from California, and the coast near Big Sur, surely?
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." I would change the second lat word to "my". To
remind me that my life is about me. I tis about others too, but that is not my primary focus. One
time I travelled through America looking for the American Dream. The last time was a rush job- dealing
with the death of our kid brother.
As I wrote I am looking at the morning news. We are a small compact country- and the daily news is
kind of crafted with a community feel. A fair bit of it is relevant. Not too much hustle and crisis. One
thing we end to do is to use first name everywhere. Our leader is Jacinda; the highest authority on earth
we used to call Liz and Phil. And now- there is only Liz.
...
Reading the paper- an old local farmer passed away last week. I miss people like that. Knew the family
fairly well.
My writing here is fairly free of typo's these days. I correct as I go along. I used to be pretty messy. The
"f" word I am using a lot at the moment is "fair". 'A fair few'. "Fairly good."
A world and family where things were fair was my plea and my goal. Not always possible... ...but I suppose
I could be a bastion of fairness and truth. Honesty. Love.
Al-Anon, especially this slogan, have given to me the gift of the here and now. I can't even begin to imagine how much of my resources - time, energy, emotion, etc. - have been spent in either the past or the future. Way... way... too... much! It is still natural for me to not be 'here/now', so it's an effort, yet one I freely embrace practicing this program.
Today, I can look back and smile or giggle at the me when I first arrived. I was so serious and so overwhelmed by everything disease related and life related. I'd call my sponsor and vent about all things, everything, anything, and she would consistently say to me, IAm, it's 3:55pm on Tuesday afternoon and we're on the phone together all truly all is well. Over and over and over again, her first response to my freaking out was to bring me right back to the here/now. I did not fully understand and probably even eye-rolled many times, yet she was spot on in helping me better get my head over my heart and my feet.
I am grateful for this program, for my recovery, for all of you and the improved relationship with a HP. I got to play golf league with 2 of my Aunts this morning which was lovely. I then left and came home for lunch and then played more golf with my nephew. I went straight from the golf course to get my first vaccine shot. Needless to say, all the planning I did - I didn't think through my clothing so had to strip 3 layers of long sleeves off to get the shot in my arm. I am certain the stranger sitting across from me thought I was crazy, half-dressed at a super-sized vaccine center -- I just laughed - grateful I did not know him or see anyone else that I know.
It's been a full day and that's OK for me - better than not, so I think. Love and light to all, (((hugs))) too.
Big Sur is one of those seriously magical places
Esalen is a incredible resource
Many of my meditation teachers teach there
I felt incredibly relaxed and at the home in Big Sur. Nevertheless the qualifier managed to ruin that holiday. He had a soecial way of doing that .
Glad to applaud your reference point
Maresie
Maresie
And the Californian Poppy- which grow over here profusely-
bought over by the old 49ers.
One time I got a $2 book from a hospice shop- about gestalt-
which I relate to these great developments in therapy.
PAC- or TA being a pivotal one. But I worked through
that book on my own for a year- and started to get
centred-ness through my broken-ness which was a part
of the slow miracle which is me. However the ~Janet~
connection was a massive biggee for me! As a lot of us
there was 100% no talk about things of great moment-
or anything much at all in our lives. So such talk is gold
and diamonds, really.
...
Dear Paul
I have always had plenty of reason to worry. Mis steps are a way of life for me. I am trying to correct one of my misteps. It is very time consuming. Some relief arrives in a week when I will be taking time off. However some hills arrived so I have to regroup
Paying Bill's is a big priority for ne. So is avoiding chaos. Mis steps are s fact of life I.keep reminding myself
Bit this mis step brought even more fatigue to my already really stretched cause
Maresie
Dear David
Esalen is a legend and rightly so
I have only been by Esalen but never inside
I am a on looked
Unfortunately my schedule is such that I do not get time off. I am back to two jobs again in.fact I have three
Next week I will have sone time off but Inhave so much to do it is really hard
I hope sometime this will all let up. I am waiting on some more funds that will arrive next month
Being an essential worker had been incredibly difficult
In theory things will be returning to normal in Jibe but who.kniws. I have worked the whole time through moving out from my aoartment from moving back. Through many many jobs. I have charger jobs st least 4 times. Talk about gruelling
Two days at Big Sur would really help. No.chsbce of that
Maresie