*August 13th*

We suffer more than we need to, and often, perhaps, because we want to. Many of us reopen old wounds by dwelling on the past - what "he or she did last week or last year." Many of us live in needless dread of what tomorrow will bring.

An interesting and rewarding exercise for today might be to examine all the things that are hurting me at the moment. I will challenge their validity to see if there is any basis for my bitterness - or for that dread and fear. I’ll probably discover, to my delight, that I have, right at this moment, more than enough reasons to be happy and contented.

Today’s Reminder
Why do I allow myself to suffer? Is there any meaning or validity to the items I am permitting myself to suffer from? What if "my spouse said this" - or "my child did that." Even if it was "meant" to hurt, it cannot reach the real me, if I stand guard at the door of my mind.

"Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you’ve even survived,
But what torments of grief you’ve endured,
From evils which never arrived."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

[Taken and fashioned from "One Day At A Time In Al-Anon by Jim Hogue, MFTI, 8-13.]