Showing posts with label addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label addiction. Show all posts

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Navigating Change: Making A Difference!

Kealoha Poetry Slam-134Kealoha Poetry Slam-133Kealoha Poetry Slam-128Kealoha Poetry Slam-122Kealoha Poetry Slam-120 (1)Kealoha Poetry Slam-113
Kealoha Poetry Slam-112Kealoha Poetry Slam-100Kealoha Poetry Slam-89Kealoha Poetry Slam-40Kealoha Poetry Slam-31Kealoha Poetry Slam-27
Kealoha Poetry Slam-23Kealoha Poetry Slam-22Kealoha Poetry Slam-19Kealoha Poetry Slam-16Kealoha Poetry Slam-9Kealoha Poetry Slam-8 (2)
These 16 pictures are courtesy of Habilitat!
An Evening of Poetry at Habilitat, with special guests Kealoha, the first Poet Laureate of Hawaii, myself Connie D. and Fellow Pen Woman, Marcia Zina Mager

A Special Thank you to Habilitat Poets
Sarah S.
Ocie G.
Shannon N.
Mark B.
Krystal A. for the ART

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Steps to Sanity cont.


The fifth step is Forgiveness
Forgiveness is another form of detachment.
Addiction is a family disease. There is no getting around it. It’s in our DNA. Although some people think that we are at the mercy of our genes, our environment and our upbringing, I strongly disagree. It is a CHOICE. Sooner or later, no matter how you interpret it; it is time to GROW UP.
Addiction is a CHOICE that we make on a daily basis, nothing more and nothing less.
But let me ask you, for the sake of argument, if your family had Cancer or Alzheimer’s would you be mad at them? Of course not, you would do everything in your power to be supportive, to make them as comfortable as possible and to show them how much you love them.
Addiction is a little trickier though, because of the stigma attached to it.  We love them but our thinking has become distorted and so we end up showing our love in inappropriate and unhealthy ways.
Todays’ reminder from Al-Anon’s Courage to Change ©1992
Every time I try to tighten the noose of resentment around someone’s neck, I am really choking myself. Today I will practice forgiveness instead.
“You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.”~ Booker T. Washington

Friday, November 4, 2011

Steps to Sanity (from a Survivor)


The fourth step is to BE KIND or as I like to call it, Detaching with LOVE Mr. Spock.

Isn’t that brilliant? So how do I do that?  Read my lips, I am not a Vulcan. This isn’t Star Trek, I actually have feelings, feelings that I can’t just shut off like a water faucet. So HOW am I going to perform this act? The circus left town.


In order to be kind you need to step outside of your feelings for a moment, you need to do just what is askedwithout over analyzing and putting your own smarter point of view over on people. If they need a ride to work and you are already going that way, stop and give them a ride. It’s just keeping it simple. addressing the need and keeping it real. You may not approve of their lifestyle or behavior at the moment but you can still be kind.  You can listen, offer advice when they ask for it, and then you can mind your business and get a life.  


By get a life, I mean invest some time in things that inspire you, things that may have been set aside because you were too busy with a career or raising a family. After my husband and I retired I took up Golf and learned much more than a game, I learned how to live and become a classy mature woman.  I learned to take my experiences and make them count for something. I learned that I had something worth sharing outside of those dark meeting rooms. Al-Anon is great when life is too overwhelming, I recommend it in the beginning but if you are still there after thirty years and you’re not a sponsor, you are still stuck. You, my friend, need to get a life.




From Al-Anon’s Courage to Change © 1992
Today’s reminder Nov. 4
I no longer have to depend on any one person or situation (meeting) to get on with my day.   Today I have choices.


"Consider the little mouse, how sagacious an animal it is which never entrusts his life to one hole only." ~ Plautus

Thursday, November 3, 2011


Step number three is let go of your FEAR:
Again, I know, this is like asking for a miracle.  I can hear what you are thinking because I’m psychic.

But, what if something happens to him/her And I’m Not There? What if he/she needs a ride somewhere? You know important shit like--What will he/she eat? Where—OMG—will he/she sleep-- If I’m NOT THERE?  My son spent plenty of nights sleeping on the beach, under a tree, on a chair, or on the floor of some garage.  And I in all my magical godlike powers was right there with him—WORRYING! Funny in retrospect, that doesn’t sound too godlike does it?
You can’t live their lives for them and you shouldn’t even try!  I remember how I was at that age—you couldn’t tell me anything. I had to learn it for myself. What made me think that my child was any different?
LETTING GO OF YOUR FEAR will set you free. It will un-stick you, remove the paralysis that threatens to take you down and swallow you like quicksand.
I know that when I do something positive instead of worrying, like going to a meeting,  for a walk, taking a yoga class, or volunteering,  will help. Taking that first step, finding people in the same situation as yourself, and getting out there will take you out of your self-imposed isolation. It will restore you to sanity.
My take—on Al-Anon’s Courage to Change © 1992
I am proud of the fact that I am a survivor. I've experienced  many struggles in order to arrive exactly where I am today. Today I know that I am  much MORE than my troubles.  I am a human being with dignity.  I have a wealth of knowledge that I can share with others who are going through similar difficulties.  I needn’t FEAR the challenges of the future. I know that I am a stronger person as a result of what I have been through. I am ready to pass it forward.

“When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars.”~ Charles A. Beard

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