Step 8
Daily readings from Al-Anon's Magazine The Forum • Recovery Reflections • Quote/Sayings
Saturday 8/19/17
|
Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time. - Jon Kabat-Zinn |
When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep. —Ursula K. LeGuin Sometimes we need to turn away from what's troubling us. Turn it over, says the Third Step. hanging onto a situation for which no solution is immediately apparent, only exaggerates the situation. It is often said the solution to any problem lies within it. However, turning the problem over and over in our minds keeps our attention on the outer appearance, not the inner solution. Rest, meditation, quiet attention to other matters, other persons, opens the way for God to reveal the solution. Every problem can be resolved. And no answer is ever withheld for long. We need to be open to it, though. We need to step away from our ego, outside of the problem and then listen fully to the words of friends, to the words that rise from our own hearts. Too much thinking, incessant analyzing, will keep any problem a problem. I will rest from my thoughts. I will give my attention wholly to the present. Therein will come the solution, and when least expected. |
Forum Article Gives Mother The
Perspective She Needed My beautiful son had successfully entered the honors college in our state, and had never given me any cause for concern. But this new college-life brought changes, including drinking. The downward spiral led to three separate suicide attempts.
As I waited for the police to come, I knew that I had hit bottom. I knew that my son was “out there” somewhere, attempting suicide, and I could not find him. The police said they would keep an eye out for him. At that moment, I fell to my knees and felt the full force of Step One in my life. I had no control over this situation. I was immediately thankful that I had been attending Al‑Anon for a few years and had accumulated the necessary tools I needed to face this crisis. This was my Higher Power preparing me for the journey ahead. Step Three reminded me that I needed to turn my will and my life over to the care of my Higher Power—immediately. I could do nothing to fix this situation. As my precious son sank deeper into depression, he had to withdraw from college. He stayed in his bedroom every day with the door closed. By two o’clock in the afternoon, as I would pass by his closed door, the fear would begin to creep into my mind, “Is he dead in there?” I was afraid to open the door. Just about that time, a new copy of The Forum came to my mailbox. One of the articles gave me just what I needed at that moment. I read: I am powerless over whether or not he is aware of his Higher Power. I am powerless over whether or not he has a program. I am powerless over the degree to which he feels joy. I am powerless to raise him out of the depths of despair. I am powerless over whether he lives or dies. With those words, I found my path back to peace and serenity. I let go of my fear. I let go of my anxiety. I knew that whatever happened, my Higher Power was in control and that I could be restored to sanity. I was ready—ready to let go and place my son in the powerful, capable, loving hands of his Higher Power. By Amy T., Florida, January 2015 Reprinted with permission of The Forum Al-Anon Family Groups Incorporated, Virginia Beach, VA 
Read here
|
