One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
What roles do we play in our relations with various people? When this topic came up in an Al-Anon meeting, a member suggested that each of us might take a closer look at our attitudes toward our families. He pointed out that here, at the Al-Anon meeting, we were often cheerful, willing to accept the program, hopeful that it would work for us.
“But do we,” he asked, “always present the same pleasant face to the alcoholic and to our children? Or do we often scowl and scold, admonish and complain, so the picture we present of ourselves at home is that of boss, mentor and disapprover?”
Today’s Reminder:
If my attitude at home is habitually glum and critical, I will try to change this by observing what I say and do, and how my family reacts. I will not reserve my deference and respect for outsiders whom I want to please, or my pleasant expressions for those I want to impress. The people I live with are worthy of my best behavior, and will surely respond to the respect and loving kindness which, without meaning to, I may have withheld from them.
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
— Proverbs