April 22, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Today’s thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Misery is optional

We may have learned to be miserable, but we can choose to unlearn it. Though we can’t control what happens to us, we can determine how we will interpret and react to what happens. We can moan about the things we don’t like, using them as excuses for self-pity (“poor me”), or we can implement the Serenity Prayer, accepting what we can’t change and changing what we can.

In the past, we often made ourselves miserable by over-doing things. Now, how often do we continue to invite misery by thinking we ought to be able to control other people? What part do unrealistic expectations play in the creation and continuation of our misery?

When we’re hurting, we need to do something about it. A physical hurt may require a doctor; an emotional pain may call for a therapist or friend, and spiritual distress may indicate the need for more prayer and meditation, closer contact with a Higher Power. We can accept responsibility for our feelings, become willing to go to any lengths to get well, and choose not to be miserable.

Responding with misery is not on my list of options for today.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

This book is now out of print and no longer available to purchase. Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L. © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation