We live in a world of conflict. We perceive it as coming from other people, but much of our conflict originates in our own minds. It may seem that others are against us, but it's usually coming from within ourselves.
We have already determined that our thoughts come first and then our actions follow, but if we can get a pattern of actions going, they can sometimes influence our thoughts.
One of the very first things our program teaches us is not to react to everything. That's about choosing not…
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Added by Randy G. on October 25, 2009 at 10:18pm —
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A Boy Longs To Play
Hidden inside, a little boy longs to play;
surrounded by things that were lost and
can never be replaced. Happiness stolen, it wasn’t
supposed to be this way.
Trapped by the insanity, and the scars of yesterday;
no one on earth could possibly know his pain.
Life so full of hurt, why did he even stay;
the belt so tight and the air cut off, but fear
stood in his way.
With no one to turn too, and his joy taken away,
how would he break free, how could he join any game.…
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Added by Glenn James on October 17, 2009 at 10:14pm —
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My journey towards becoming a strong and healthy survivor lasted for a little over a year. It was something I worked on everyday and for the majority of all my waking hours throughout that year, give or take a few each day for the normal eating, bathing type stuff. I had just left a job as a CFO over two companies, and was now writing my first book full time.
It is hard sometimes to see the path that God has before us, and sometimes we have to keep moving forward on faith alone. I knew that God…
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Added by Glenn James on October 17, 2009 at 4:30am —
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I am The Survivor
Tonight I will stand before a crowd of people and announce that I am a Survivor. It is a fact that I want the whole world to hear.
Wearing my signature bandanna, red white and blue, I will appear too many as a rough and scary looking man. As I sit before the audience, waiting for the speaking to begin, opinions will start to form as to who I am. Some will see a druggie, a fighter, or a loser from the streets. Others will think I am edgy, shady, or perhaps even a thief. Few i…
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Added by Glenn James on October 15, 2009 at 7:00am —
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The great Martin Luther King, once said "I have a dream".
Sometimes it is the knowledge, which moves people to try to make this world a better place.
We, who have suffered the atrocities of this world, sometimes feel we have no hope, no voice, no right to complain. We feel the world is the way it is, and since we have seen nothing better since our youngest age, we are groomed for acceptance. Although we may know nothing beyond our own pain and suffering, it does not change the reality that there…
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Added by Glenn James on October 13, 2009 at 2:21pm —
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Hi, I am Glenn James, and I was the victim of CSA, Physical Abuse, and emotional Abuse that lasted for almost a decade. Today I am a Strong and Healthy Survivor. I turned to the streets at age 14, and did not begin to change that lifestyle until my early twenties. I went to college and later worked in the Accounting and Finance world four 14 years. I was a CFO at the time I began to work on my emotional aspects of being a victim. My life was forever changed in a positive way when I wrote the boo…
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Added by Glenn James on October 8, 2009 at 10:31am —
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Sometimes life throws us a curve ball and the world as we've known it gets turned upside down and inside out. Times when we've been let down, betrayed, or abandoned as if we didn't matter. When this happens we are left to either find a way to pick up the pieces and move on bit by bit, or hold onto what happened like a broken trophy of the past that defines and diminishes our life.
My dear councelor was a fierc…
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Added by srfranci on September 14, 2009 at 2:35pm —
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~To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.” -- Unknown
Are you happy with yourself? You can change into what you desire to be. Most of us had very little choice in much of what happened to us as a child. As we grow up we do. The simple fact is we are right now, just where we chose to be.
There is only one you. No one else laughs like you. Talks, walks, or…
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Added by srfranci on August 10, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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Lack of belief in oneself is a killer. It doesn’t help you at all. You need no one else but yourself to turn things around. Here are few-encouraging words that help put a little faith into yourself:
-Think of your dream and imagine yourself reaching that. Always thinking that you’re capable of succeeding can help the thought sink into your subconscious. Remember, failure begins with di…
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Added by srfranci on July 20, 2009 at 9:59pm —
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Leave our meeting place better than we find it. - This basic has helped us enjoy a great range of meeting places. It speaks well of our validity as a recovery program and makes us experience the positive feelings of being responsible at the same time.
Pray in a.m. for Help - When we get up in the morning we ask our Higher Power to help us stay clean, maintain conscious contact, guide us and give is the strength to deal with what comes up.
Pray in p.m. and give…
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Added by Randy G. on June 28, 2009 at 6:15pm —
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Online Recovery Support Radio: Episode 9 hosted by a dear friend. I decided to add a little about my own reflections on meditation. When I first learned about meditation, I thought it was silly. I did not think I could get much out of it. Not only that, but I knew I could not sit still for any period of time because I found my mind just wonders. Mike had told me to find a special quiet place, and to go there…
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Added by srfranci on June 11, 2009 at 10:04pm —
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I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
I've learned that no matter how good a person is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while, and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned that talking can ease emotional pains.
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
I've…
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Added by Randy G. on June 4, 2009 at 11:00am —
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When I was growing up, the term "addict" was almost equivalent to the term "fiend" as in "dope-fiend." There was a sense of demons and craziness about it, and no one wanted to be called an addict. I have learned a lot about addiction and the addictive process since then from my dad who was an alcoholic. One of the things I learned is that addictions are extraordinarily common, one might even…
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Added by srfranci on June 2, 2009 at 11:00pm —
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This is to my best friend who is always there for me and would do anything for me. She has taught me so much about myself and the life I choose to live. ~
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are and who you want to become. You never know who these people may be: they c…
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Added by srfranci on May 27, 2009 at 10:30pm —
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The joy associated with success is a wonderful aspect of recovery. Some of the success points for us that others may not understand include:
- Waking up in the morning remembering what you did the night before
- The first thought of the day being about other things than alcohol and drugs
- Getting to work on time...and straight
- Not always looking over your shoulder
- Having c…
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Added by srfranci on May 24, 2009 at 9:55pm —
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Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must but don't you quit
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow…
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Added by ATargetNoMore on May 24, 2009 at 12:30pm —
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I'm doing the best to help myself and find help. It's so difficult without insurance. I have to wait a month before I even have
orientation for my city's outpatient program. It seems like help is just a joke, and everyone who's supposed to help me is just laughing at me behind my back.
I found this place but it seems like a dead zone. I am the only person online right now. All the other online support communities are just like this one though.
So I don't know; I'm starting to think that…
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Added by Shane on May 23, 2009 at 11:59am —
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Depression: "A condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason."
A large part of experiencing depression is how much time we spend with our own thoughts, pondering on events and outcomes that may or may not have happened.
When in the process of doing this, we tend to…
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Added by srfranci on May 20, 2009 at 10:41pm —
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I can't give solutions to all of life's problems, doubts, or fears.
But I can listen to you, and together we will search for answers.
I can't change your past with all its heartache and pain, or the future with its untold stories.
But I can be there now when you need me to care.
I can't keep your feet from stumbling.
I can only offer my hand that you may grasp it and not fall.
Your joys, triumphs, successes, and happiness are not mine;
yet I can share in your laughter.
Your decisions in l…
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Added by Randy G. on May 20, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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Principles are the language of miracles. Increasing our language ability helps us make the right choices. Our minds often play tricks on us, due to our disease, and we use spiritual principles as guidelines to escape our old ways. These principles can be mimicked but unspiritual people lack certain characteristics associated with spiritual growth. Love, caring, patience, peace of mind is hard attributes to fake! We each have to reach a point of surrender to enter the state we call 'recovery.'…
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Added by Randy G. on May 14, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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7. Acting and Reacting
Poem: A Boy Longs To Play
The Nature Of Setbacks
Don't Quit
Is there anybody out there?
