
One Day at a Time in Al-Anon
“It’s all very well to tell us to detach our minds from the problems we’re living with, but how do you do it?” Asks an Al-Anon member. “It isn’t easy when we’re embroiled in all kinds of trouble day after day, with one decision after another to make, and only a confused mind to make them with!”
There must be some small bit of time during the day when we can lift our thoughts out of the swamp of confusion if only to express a few words and think of their meaning: Let go and Let God; Live and let live; Easy does it.
Today’s Reminder
I know that constant dwelling on my troubles lessens my ability to see them clearly and make wise decisions. I will not complicate the present by reviewing the past; nor will I dread what may happen tomorrow. One way to make detachment easier is to eliminate the past and future from my thoughts.
“He who frees himself of hampering regrets for the past and worry about what lies ahead find himself able to deal with the present”
Courage To Change
For a long time, I tried to let go and let God, but I couldn’t seem to do it. I needed to find a concrete way to let go. I heard someone shared a meeting that she pictured her loved ones on a beautiful ocean beach, basking in the light of a Higher Power.
Al-Anon has taught me to take what I like and leave the rest. I couldn’t relate to the beach scene, but I did find comfort in the general idea. Once again, the experience, strength, and hope of another Al-Anon member led me to find my own, personalized answer. I now envision wrapping my loved ones in the kind of blanket that I think they’d like — are down comforter, an army blanket, a patchwork quilt — and gently handing them to my Higher Power. I find it important to be very specific. After all, my fears and worries are specific.
With a clear picture of my loved ones in my Higher Power’s care, I am much more able truly to let go and let God.
When I’m anxious about other people, I need my Higher Power’s help. Fighting with fear often strengthens its hold over me, but turning my loved ones over to God can free us all.
“Let Go and Let God’. . . teaches us to release problems that trouble and confuse us because we are not able to solve them by ourselves.”
This Is Al-Anon
Hope For Today
I recently went on holiday in another country and was vividly reminded that my Higher Power works on other continents as well as in my hometown.
Before I left, I went through a period of mild anxiety. This was the first time I would be travelling alone since I had become handicapped many years earlier. I felt apprehensive about travelling by myself to another land where I wouldn’t know anyone. So I attended extra meetings, discussed my fears, and practised “Let Go and Let God.”
At the vacation resort, the tile floors presented me with a challenge because I walk with the help of two arm-crutches. Everything went fairly well until two days in my trip when I slipped on the tile in my room and fell quite hard. I was alone at the time and felt vulnerable with no one there to help me.
After a few minutes of crying to my Higher Power that I wanted to go home, I went into “Al-Anon mode.” I recited the Serenity Prayer, scooted myself over to the sink to pull myself up, and called the resort’s management office. Within five minutes, the nurse was at my door. She helped me calm down and then made a doctor’s appointment for me. She even accompanied me to the doctor and waited while I was treated. After that she called me each day, even on her day off, to make sure I was feeling better.
Thanks to the Al-Anon tools and to my Higher Power’s care, I was able to continue my vacation joyfully, free of physical pain, and full of gratitude for the warmth of a stranger who soon became my friend.
Thought for the Day
The Higher Power and the Al-Anon tools: Never leave home without them!
“This wonderful adventure called life in Al-Anon is always taking me to new places . . .”
The Forum, August 1998, p. 4
