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Post by majestyjo on Dec 6, 2015 10:05:09 GMT -5
Like this because it affirms my own personal belief. You have to identify your feelings, allow yourself to feel them, in order to let them go. As the saying goes, "Just because you have a feeling, doesn't mean you have to act on it." Just because I am fearful, doesn't mean I can't do it. I can go to my God and ask for His Courage, Strength, Love, Wisdom, or anything else I need to get through it. As they say, "If He leads you to it, He will see you through it."
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 21, 2015 22:35:23 GMT -5
Just for you......
A girl asked a guy if he thought she was pretty, He said...no.
She asked him if he would want to be with her forever.... and he said no.
She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a no.
She had heard enough. As she walked away, tears streaming down her face .
The boy grabbed her arm and said.... You're not pretty you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever. I NEED to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away... I'd die.
WASN'T THAT A SWEET THOUGHT!
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 23, 2015 11:02:04 GMT -5
Oh Mr. Sun, you make my day You make my heart warm and it radiates With outbursts of love and energy Which resonates through my being.
Even when I can't see you You are on my mind Because I know that somewhere Beyond those clouds you shine.
With hope and bated breath I wait to see your face, No matter what comes between us My faith in you remains forever true.
You are a part of Father sky You shine down on Mother Earth You feed the Nature of all Things Big and small they feel your Grace.
Written February 25, 2010.
No ego in my family, I have it all.
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 23, 2015 18:27:28 GMT -5
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Post by majestyjo on Jan 15, 2016 13:19:49 GMT -5
Honesty is the principle of the first Step. Along with it acceptance and surrender is needed to take this Step 100%. The rest of the Steps can not be worked to the best of our ability if we don't learn to attain these three things. We need to have a truly honest look at ourselves and find out who we are. To do that we need to work the 12 Steps and to do that, I need to start with the First! I had trouble getting honest because I used people, places and things for so many years to stuff my feelings and to hide my true self because I feared you would not love, like, accept, and be my friend. I feared rejection, abandonment, disapproval and I looked to you for validation because I could not find it within myself. I didn't know what I was feeling, I couldn't put labels on things and people would say, "How do you feel?" I didn't know. It was only by going to meeting, hearing others share that I could identify my feelings and behaviors, postive and negative so that I could get honest about them and deal with them. As long as I compared, I stayed sick. I wasn't that bad. I didn't do that. Well I didn't drink or drug, so I am better than they are. Not knowing that my codependency and caretaking lead to the same soul sickness and that I was often more sick than the alcoholics that were in my life. I used cigarettes and food, work and service to stuff and to hide from my feelings and even in recovery, I stayed sick until I could find true honesty. I had cash register honesty. I could be kind and carrying and yet there were times I would tell white lies so I wouldn't hurt you, but then my motive and intent was generally because I didn't want you to not like me if I was truly honest with you. I learned that it wasn't so much what you said, but how you said it that mattered. The truth had to come out. I had to find the true me. In order to find my truth I had to get honest, have a close relationship with my Higher Power and allow His unconditional Love transform me into a loving person who was able to let go of bitterness, resentment, an unforgiving heart, anger, guilt, shame, etc. It was a process. It didn't happen over night. I didn't get sick over night, so I didn't find self-honesty all wrapped up in a package that I could just grap and hold onto. As the blinders came off, the heart and mind opened, the ear became willing to listen, and I took down the barriers and eliminated the blocks that I had put up in self-defense, I was finally able to allow myself to become vulnerable and open for healing. I had to let go of the darkness and bring it to the Light so it could be healed. I had to shapeshift the old reality and create a new based on my truth and my self-honesty. I also found that my truth may not be someone else's and even though some one may not agree with me, I had a right to stand up for what I believed in if it came from my God. What I had to do was get honest and decide whether it was my self-will or my conscious self that was making the decision and whether I was being empowered or whether I thought I was the power. Like so many other things in this program, it took practice, practice, practice. God is as He reveals Himself to me in today. Love this picture. Found it a long time ago. To me it speaks of the Inner Self. Personal Empowerment, the Goddess within, whatever you want to call it. It was about being aware of the presence of it and building an honest relationships with it. I was reminded today that I am coming up on my 74th birthday and that I needed to have acceptance of the fact. I told her that I just realized and thought of it earlier in the week.
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Post by majestyjo on Apr 11, 2016 19:51:19 GMT -5
The following is a list of 110 self-nurturing ideas that have to do with "Esteem Needs." Do at least one of these activities every day. Psysiological Needs: Eat breakfast Take a nap Break a bad habit, if just for today Get at least 7 hours sleep Drink 8 glasses of water today Eat a healthy snack Safety Needs: Repair something in your home Learn how to protect your health Wear a seat belt Belonging and Love Needs: Call your mother or father Search out a long-lost friend Open up to the person closest to you Pay a compliment Turn off the TV and talk Get to know the neighbor's dog or cat Listen to what you hear Tell someone you love him or her Hold a hand Hug someone Contact someone you've been thinking about Admire a child Get to know the neighbors Kiss a friend Tell someone how much you appreciate him or her Esteem Needs: Blow up a balloon and turn it loose Make your own candles Walk instead of ride Give yourself a compliment Read a poem aloud Look at the stars Use a new word Frame a picture Forget an old grudge Take yourself to lunch Go to the library Try a new food Listen to the rain on the roof Feed the ducks Jump in a pile of leaves Appreciate trees Sign up for a class Study a dew-laden cobweb Learn something new Sing in the shower List ten things you do well Walk in the rain Waste a little time Curl up before an open fire Buy a ticket to a special event Return something you've borrowed Organize some small corner of your life Pop popcorn Draw a picture, even if you can't draw Keep a secret Enjoy silence Walk to the nearest park Go wading Light a candle and read by candlelight Pick up some travel brochures and dream Smell a flower Clean out your wallet Take an early morning walk Look at old photos Run down a hill Write a poem Start a new project Walk barefoot Tell a joke Take a different road to get home Build a sandcastle Ask someone for help Let someone do you a favor Reread a favorite book Listen to the dawn Imagine being your favorite tree Watch the sun set Hide a love note where a loved one will find it Make a surprise gift Go to a fair Lie on the grass Go for a swim Rearrange a room Let someone love you Drop a quarter where someone will find it Hum Bake bread Self-Actualization Needs: Visit a lonely person or a shut-in Help a stranger Be thankful Take a risk Do something you've always wanted to do Say "yes" Say "no" Meditate Throw away something you don't like Try to feel another person's hurt (or joy) Practice courage in one small way Warm a heart Laugh at yourself Send a card to someone for no reason Encourage a young person Follow an impulse Put yourself out for someone Acknowledge when you are wrong Volunteer some time to a good cause Give yourself a present Allow yourself to make a mistake Allow yourself to make another mistake Do something hard to do Don't do something -- sit there Take time to talk to neighborhood children Source unknown to me
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 11, 2016 18:21:57 GMT -5
If you want to beat traffic. . .
Pick some fruit!!
Yesterday it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to go 10 miles.
I was frustrated. I was powerless. I was exhausted. I was grateful. I was victorious. I was energized.
Heavy traffic volumes are a fact of life in any big city. Many of the local governments fund road improvement programs, only to close lanes as they improve the roads.
Lanes close, traffic increases, people get more frustrated and distracted, they have accidents, they cause more traffic pile-ups.
It's a vicious cycle.
It is often said that a person's first reaction in times of crisis tells a lot about that person. I say that a person's reaction while traveling six inches per minute tells even more about that person.
Sitting in traffic is one of the best times to pick some fruit.
Pick some patience. . . You'll be able to relax. After all, you'll be sitting there for a while anyway.
Pick some peace. . . Try something different --- instead of listening to the radio traffic reports about the traffic you're sitting in, turn the radio off. Play a classical CD. Or better yet, just enjoy the quiet time.
Pick some kindness. . . Smile at the person in the car next to you. Now that's really different!
Pick some love. . . Start a conversation with your spouse or child about something you know is bothering them. Time spent driving can be time spent talking and understanding each other.
Pick some joy. . . Be thankful that you're not the person involved in the calamity that's causing the traffic.
Pick some faith. . . Take this time to look up at the sky, observe the trees, marvel at the birds. Think about your own life. Then you'll know for sure that there is a God.
Pick some gentleness. . . I know you have a cell phone, so pick it up and call someone you haven't spoken to in months. You still remember the number.
Pick some goodness. . . Plan a good deed that you'll do for someone as soon as you get out of the traffic. Maybe there's something you can do immediately to help the person on the side of the road.
Pick some meekness. . . No matter what kind of car you're riding in, understand that it's not by your own works that you were able to obtain it.
Once you pick your fruit, your frustration, powerlessness, and exhaustion will transform into gratitude, victory and energy.
You'll have a new outlook on life all because you pulled over, . . . and decided to pick some fruit.
~A Mountain Wings Original by C. Elijah Bronner~
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 11, 2016 18:23:03 GMT -5
This may be a repeat, but found it on a site that I use to go to called Recovery Inn.
They say, if we do the work, we will see the fruit of our labour. If you don't put something into it, you won't get anything out of it.
I think that is why they say, give it a way in order to keep it. When you do, it comes back to you, not always from the same source, but it will come back.
May you have a fruitful life today.
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 24, 2016 21:15:45 GMT -5
HOW DO WE GET SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN A POWER GREATER THEN THEMSELVES? I MEAN A LOVING GOD AS HE MAY EXPRESS HIMSELF. I DON'T WISH TO SHOVE GOD DOWN ANYONE'S THROAT. I JUST WONDER, HOW DOES EVERYONE ELSE IN HERE TELL SOMEONE THAT, GOD HELPS THEM?
Personally, I don't have the power. All I can share is my experience, strength and hope with others. They have to find the way. It is not my job to play God with someone else's life. I do not have the right to project my God on to others, but I can share how my God works in my life and pray that they will find their way.
I read something the other day that said, "You don't have to believe in God to find the Spirit within."
I thought this was very empowering. I thought I knew who God was, but as I worked this program i came to realize that God had been an old tape and I only knew God third hand. God was an old tape and I had to go on a spiritual journey to find out what God meant to me.
For me, God is, as he reveals Himself to me.
I keep telling people not to keep God in church. He is there for sure, but He is everywhere, and why should you limit God by your narrow vision and perception.
I can't make people believe anything, yet hopefully, by living my own program, they can see God working in my life and catch a glimpse of Him through me.
Reminds me of a long time joke about someone dying and his friends coming to say goodbye. The one fellow looks at his friend in the casket and starts to laugh. His buddy calls him his behaviour and says it was very appropriate for the occasion. He said, "I can't help it. Look at him lying there. He always claimed to be an atheist. There he is, all dressed up with no place to go."
It is funny, yet it is sad. To think of having no hope or direction in your life makes life so much more difficult. We have been there, although I knew there was a God, I just didn't believe that He believed in me.
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 29, 2016 22:24:04 GMT -5
Balance Tonight at the meeting I attended, I was glad that it was a woman speaker. As I said earlier, I felt like I needed a meeting where I could sit back, shut up and listen. The speaker mentioned the word balance only once. She said she had a problem with it. I could so identify. For me, it is an Aries thing. Our opposite sign is Libra, which is balance personified. I went over to thank her for sharing and I said, "You wouldn't happen to be an Aries would you?" She said, "Yes!" Her birthday is a day after mine. I gave her my definition of an Aries, "The left foot is moving forward and the right food doesn't know it has to move yet." It can cause you to stumble and lose balance. I need to get out of the way so I don't stumble over my own feet that can take me in the wrong direction.
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Post by majestyjo on Sept 18, 2016 15:23:38 GMT -5
This was shared on FB by someone who was healing through the 12 Steps of ACoA. I am putting it here, because I think it is applicable to most people, whether you belong to a 12 Step program or not.
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Post by majestyjo on Sept 18, 2016 15:35:50 GMT -5
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Post by majestyjo on Sept 28, 2016 0:01:46 GMT -5
It is good not to crowd my mind with too much at once. It gets overwhelmed and often goes blank and says, "Duh!" Tonight I have signed in and out, and kept finding more that spoke to me that I wanted to share with others.
I use to play bridge and got away from it. I have had thoughts of going back, but it hasn't happened yet. I think there is a deep seated fear of going and not being as good as I use to be. Forgetting 1. That I am older. 2. I am no longer on the medication that clouded my thinking. 3. I may not be as good as I was, but I can still go and TRY and do the best that I can and slowly improve. Ms. Perfection is part of my disease, I need to put her in her place.
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Post by majestyjo on Oct 3, 2016 19:19:17 GMT -5
I know this is a duplicate, but I like it and it is always a good re-read. We as women put ourselves down to often, no one did a number on me and put me down more than what I did to myself.
When God created woman He was working late on the 6th day. An angel came by and asked. "Why spend so much time on her?" The Lord answered. "Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her? She must function on all kinds of situations, She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, Have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart, She must do all this with only two hands, She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day."
The angel was impressed. "Just two hands.....impossible! And this is the standard model?" The Angel came closer and touched the woman "But you have made her so soft, Lord." "She is soft," said the Lord, "But I have made her strong. You can't imagine what she can endure and overcome." "Can she think?" The Angel asked. The Lord answered. "Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate." The Angel touched her cheeks. "Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her" "She is not leaking ... it is a tear," The Lord corrected the Angel… "What's it for?" Asked the Angel..... . The Lord said. "Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride." This made a big impression on the Angel, "Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvelous!" The Lord said. "Indeed she is. She has strength that amazes a man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid. She fights for what she believes in. Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life."
The Angel asked: "So she is a perfect being?"
The Lord replied: "No. She has just one drawback. She often forgets what she is worth." --Author Unknown
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Post by majestyjo on Oct 19, 2016 10:36:14 GMT -5
What Do You Value Most?
A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man.
College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son.
He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him, he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown.
Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time.
The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture...
Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox.
"Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter.
His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.
Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time."
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.
"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.
"Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
~by Bob Perks
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 1, 2016 2:40:17 GMT -5
Help Me to Stay Sober ~Dear God, Thank you for this day. ~~Help me to stay clean and sober, just for this day. ~~Help me to recognize your hand in all things. ~~Thank you for the blessings I understand and the ones I don't. ~~Thank you for the miracles I see and the ones I don't. ~~Thank you for your spirit who always abides in me. I ask that I may be with your spirit today. ~~Cleanse my mind of all darkness and fill it with love and light. ~~Let me be o.k. with this day no matter what it brings. ~~Thank you for everything that's in my life and everything that's not." Peace and Blessings
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Post by majestyjo on Dec 16, 2016 0:12:07 GMT -5
A thingyeyed Optimist lyrics Click to play this song! "South Pacific" soundtrack Nellie: When the sky is a bright canary yellow I forget ev'ry cloud I've ever seen, So they called me a thingyeyed optimist Immature and incurably green. I have heard people rant and rave and bellow That we're done and we might as well be dead, But I'm only a thingyeyed optimist And I can't get it into my head. I hear the human race Is fallin' on its face And hasn't very far to go, But ev'ry whippoorwill Is sellin' me a bill, And tellin' me it just ain't so. I could say life is just a bowl of Jello And appear more intelligent and smart, But I'm stuck like a dope With a thing called hope, And I can't get it out of my heart! Not this heart...
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 16, 2017 23:04:53 GMT -5
Someone poste, "Please post I need help." This is my reply.
When I came into recovery, I asked my spiritual advisor and NA sponsor, "What do I need to change?" He said, "Everything."
I was told to change sponsors, but the man had 11 more year than I had, he went to AA, even though he was a recovering addict. My first sponsor called herself a pot head and my last sponsor was addicted to heroin. They were triggered in NA, and went to AA.
In NA, they say, "Alcohol is a drug." So it is about going where you feel comfortable. I went to AA for my denial. I went to NA for identification. I went to Al-Anon and found myself because of my past, my parent, my two failed marriages, two sponsees going back out and not making it back in, and a son who is in active addiction.
We don't quit forever. We quit one day at a time. Just for today, for me, people, places, and things. The drug is but a symptom of my disease (dis-ease), and the problem is me.
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 16, 2017 23:05:29 GMT -5
p.s. The first time I got drunk, I drank a mickey of rye. We were in a bar that served only beer in Toronto. He had a mickey of rye in his pocket for me. It is a progressive disease. My last drunk I drank a mickey of rye and an 80 oz bottle of white wine.
Each day of our life we play Russian Roulette with our lives. How do we know we can make it back if we go out. When they say, "Keep coming back." It is keep coming back to meetings so you don't have to go back to where you came from. The slogan isn't permission to go back out and try some more alcohol and drugs you haven't tried yet or ones you like and want to try again. It means STAY! Bring the body and hopefully the mind will follow if you aren''t brain dead.
It is a progressive disease. If you have sober time and go back out, your disease has been escalating and when you go back, if I am not mistaken, it is worse than what it was before. For one thing, the guilt and remorse itself can send you into deeper addiction.
Keep coming to the site. Share, we are here for you. I have been in the rooms for several 24 hours, and I still need to practice the program one day at a time. It isn't a chore, it is a way of life. The freedom of recovery, living and enjoying life without the use of drugs. We can do what I can't do alone.
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Post by majestyjo on Jun 16, 2017 23:06:53 GMT -5
I kind of love how alcoholics think. Man it's a bunch of work being one. Here's my awesome thinking that I actually live and also lived by. I won't bore you with knowing when every thing closes and get your booze from different places so they won't know (they know).Thats entry level. My number 1) hide or turn off your phone. I do that 95% of the time. The other 5% results in embarrassment. Don't use your phone. 2. white wine doesn't count. It actually does when you've scoffed a bottle of red after and a few shots. Friends wondering why you're so wasted. 3. Your fellow alcoholic friends are just as ****ed as you. Don't worry if you lose them. They'll lose you happily. Quitting makes them feel bad. 4. Alcoholics are often cool smart people. Usually damaged. Never completely give up on them. But understand them. They lie. 5. Try not to do drugs especially cocaine which is the peanut butter and jelly of alcohol. You won't eat. You'll drink twice as much. Next day is horrible. Also confusing because you were convinced you could save the world. Awful. 6. Alcoholics lie. Nuff said 7. You'll eventually lose your driving license. Don't **** me. Of course you drive 'impaired". See rule 6 8. Even weekends in jail suck. Trust me. It's a whole lot of hate. And you have about as much street cred as a crooked accountant. 9. You will cross that line from functioning to non. It's an ugly place and is completely unpredictable when it happens. 2 years? 40? 10. Your work might suck but calling in sick after drinking a Mickey of vodka when you woke up isn't because you didn't get a raise. They WILL though eventually fire your unreliable alcoholic self. 11. Don't make fun of this line. You drink the bottle. Then the bottle drinks you. It does. Alcohol is a cruel mistress when you are an alcoholic. 12. You'll get fat. Really fat. Or weirdly skinny with a very non sexy little beer belly. Either way you'll look like ****. 13. Try AA. It's a good program. Not for all but most. Just give it a try. 14. You'll hurt your family. Believe me they know. They just either love you or are so dysfunctional and embarrassed by your behaviour they protect you. Either way you're the not a very nice person. 15. No one thinks a drunk is sexy ( for the youngsters) and bad things happen to passed out girls.
Unfortunately I'm not giving you this information as a recovered person. But I'm going to try again. Never give up. It's a ****ty disease. Anyone willing to help?
This was the cry for help.
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