The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
I am a daughter, sister, foster mother, stepmother, loving partner, auntie, proud pet owner, gardener, cook, writer, lover, fighter of injustices, employee, an out and proud lesbian and on and on and on.
I need to remember all of these things. I am also extremely qualified for this program. I need to not let that define who I am. I am many things.....I am me.....and I am wonderful
lilms
__________________
Two things: 1. Recovery is a process, not an event.....and.... 2. You only get to go around once. Leave em laughing and make it worth your while
You made me think of something my therapist told me. I was having lots of trouble dealing with the suicide of a friend of mine years ago. He shot himself in the head, and I was the one who found him, he was still breathing, but not really "alive". This was 28 years ago, and I still panic when I think about it, I was hospitalized shortly after due to shock and depression.
Anyway.......the therapist told me that this was "just an experience I had had". Not a good one, by any means, but a single experience nonetheless, and I should not let it define who I was or am.
I am so much more.
Our experiences, good and bad, shape us, but they are not "just" who we are. We can step outside our boundaries, we are limitless!
We are glad you are who you are, lilms! And glad you are here to share the experiences with us! Onward and upward, I say!
Absolutely wonderful!!! I have been so down lately, of course for very good reason....but I cannot wait to feel that way again!!!! Thank you so much for your positive vibes.
These posts reminded me of something an author said (John Bradshaw?)... remember we are human beings, not human doings. I have to remember that, esp. when I get caught up in judging my actions and comparing.
I am also learning that I am complete. I don't need another person to complete me... and that includes my parent, my husband, my children, my students. Sometimes, I let my feelings cover my perceptions of who I think I am and I can't see who I am, or I forget who I am, or don't believe who others say I am... I have to remember feelings are just feelings and they pass. When they do, I'm still me.
You know...often we see people say "Write a gratitude list." This exercise seems to helppeople shift their perceptions about life. I like Lilms idea of identifying some good qualities in ourselves... can we list 5 positive qualities about ourslves to help us shift our perceptions of ourselves? :)
