I'm so glad you put this one up! It was such a revelation to me when I first saw it a few years ago! So many people do not understand this principle! I'm going to make some more copies and pass them around! Letting go does not mean cutting people out of our lives,, but it means letting them be who they are, and letting God guide their lives instead of us controlling them!
love in recovery,
amanda
__________________
do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
Ah, thank you Phil. The message in this should probably be put on billboards across America. How we assimilate the guilt and responsibility of others! " I can fix it, I can fix it". I did that to myself for years, and couldn't understand why I couldn't have normal relationships with people. I think I was deluded into thinking I was Gaia and could change the course of the world if I could just love them enough. which meant I set myself up for failure a zillion times. Letting go so that people can find their own paths, experience their own journeys--I had to learn to do that the hard way. And yknow, people wouldn't let me go, back in the 70s/80s, and it nearly killed me. Once they did, I had to find my own way, experience my own consequences, and that is what people need to do. Let them go to find their way, build their own foundations....Awesome post, Phil, thanks.. Wren
__________________
Funny, isn't it, how friends and a Power greater than ourselves can neutralize nightmares?
And I share the thanks for this Post. Letting Go, No Expectations, Loving freely, this was a major turning point in my Recovery. Foreign at first, "What?, I mean if I love you, then you need to love me back" Wrong thinking, and it has changed through the understanding of how this Program works, the 12 Steps, leads us to this understanding. The St. Francis Prayer is a major contributor to this change.
What a relief to Let Go of the Outcome. So much freedom, didn't understand for a long time. Living with "no expectations" makes us free, and usually turns out to be better than anything I could have hoped for. Not always, but not going to go to a judgement on that either. It just works.
Have a great day, and thanks for all that you bring to the MIP Board, my friend.