Today is October 6, 2005 A Great Day for Recovery!
FORGIVENESS
"Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom." -- Hannah Arendt
Early in sobriety I found it easy to forgive others but hard to forgive myself. This kept me sick and negative, even in recovery, because I was unable to practice self-love. I still blamed me and felt responsible for being alcoholic. I had not surrendered to the reality of alcoholism as a disease.
Then a moment of sanity was granted me whereby I understood that I was not responsible for being alcoholic, but that I am responsible for my recovery. And my recovery involves a love and respect of self. This knowledge brought a tremendous joy and freedom that led to action within the recovering community. Only by loving me will I be able to love you, and in both these ways I show my love of God.
May I always hold on to the spiritual power of forgiveness.
wendy i love this!!!! i was so filled with self hate/ self sabotaging!!!! i had a real battle "over writing" my self sabateur.....i mean the only way i could stop/ cancel my abuser's values that he put on me was to make a tape cassette AND cd, with affirmations that i loved me/ accepted me/ honoured me AS i am......i had to play it night and day 30 to 40 hours. before i could see a change in my feelings about me.........i could forgive others but not me....so sad, cause i was the little victim......( my incest aggressor father used to make me drink with him at 13 so he could more easily violate me) i learned that drinking was a good **numbing tool* i guess i hated me cause while he was hurting me, he would tell me over and over i was a **failure, jerk, idiot, no good for nothing, etcetra* so somewhere in my young life, i bought it!!!!! he did this before he began assaulting me to break me down, take away my boundaries, my choices......so i hated me!!!! i wanted to kill me!!!! at 13 i drank an entire letre of seagrams 7 to try and die!!!!!! now that is all changed!!!! i don't need to get **zoned* to feel good, i go to meets/ nurture me/ work my program, and listen to the TRUTH which is on my tapes and cd's that i made in MY voice to me!!!!!!!
thank you for this share, i really appreciated it/ you.....peace/ rosie