Monday, March 19, 2018

March 19, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Monday, March 19, 2018
Today’s thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
 — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Most of us make trouble for ourselves by over-reacting to what others say or do. We have conditioned ourselves to see everyone else as “the enemy” rather than look within ourselves for the real cause of our distress.

If we can pause long enough to uncover our own hidden discomfort and distorted attitudes before we react with harsh criticism or vindictive silence, we can change our destructive first impulses into a loving interchange between individuals.

Today let me not be quick to criticize or condemn another. I will look at others as friends, not as foes, on my journey toward self-discovery.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes. © 1981 by Hazelden Foundation

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