One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
Among the many things we learn in our contact with the Al-Anon fellowship is this: Be Good to Yourself.
This is a surprisingly hard assignment for many of us. Some relish their sufferings so much that everything that happens is ballooned to enormous proportions in the re-living and the telling. Self-pitiers are difficult to wean away from their martyrdom until the joys of serenity and contentment dawn on them in Al-Anon.
Others nurse their grievances, resent their lot in life, seek scapegoats to blame for every thing that happens to them, particularly the alcoholic. They have not yet learned to be good to themselves. They still have before them the joyous experience of letting go of a problem — the lovely adventure of shrugging off “hurts.”
Today’s Reminder:
Very little that happens in my daily encounters is worth my worry, resentment, or feeling sorry for myself. If I am always ready to take offense and be hurt, I’m selling my contentment very cheaply. I must remember to be good to myself!
“How happy and useful I could be if I weren’t carrying around such a load of unpleasant emotional turmoil. No one asks me to, so why do I?”