One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation so difficult that it seems like a long-drawn-out crisis; we cannot solve it; there is no way to escape. Such a problem will occupy our thoughts continually — round and round it goes and the more we think about it, the more we are engulfed in despair.
This is the moment to recall a simple phrase, a slogan or a bit of philosophy, and to say it over and over until our minds are filled with it, replacing thoughts of the tormenting problem.
It might be the Serenity Prayer, or a thought like the one an Al- Anon member sent in to the Forum: “Thank you, God, I can now see that thorns have roses.”
Today’s Reminder:
There is some good in even the darkest troubles that happen to me. I can acquire the knack of searching out the good and concentrating on it. Much depends on meeting my problems head-on, calmly estimating their real character, refusing to exaggerate them, and then drowning them out with an inspiring thought.
“Painful experiences come from the thorns that wound us; they make us forget they also have roses. Yet we cannot expect to enjoy life’s color, beauty and fragrance, without accepting the thorny challenges and learning how to deal with them, as we do in Al-Anon.”