Courage to Change

(Adapted for personal use from Courage to Change in Alanon.)

"If I reclaimed all of the minutes, hours, and days I’ve sacrificed to worry and fear, I’d add years to my life.  When I succumb to worry, I open a Pandora’s box of terrifying pictures, paranoid voices and relentless self-criticism. The more attention I play to this mental static, the more I lose my foothold in reality."  

Whoa. In the coming weeks I have much to accomplish.

The reading from January 10th CTC suggests that to break the cycle of worry and fear, I learn to focus all my attention on this one moment. When I make the choice to "turn away from destructive thoughts,"  and put my attention on what I can sense:  the sights and sounds around me: light and shadows, the earth beneath my feet, the sounds of birds, wind, my breath—all pieces of the here and now. Surprisingly, reality itself can "help rescue me from the “what ifs” and “should haves” by anchoring me in the present."

 Then there are the program tools: Prayer and meditation, our slogans, and calls out to  friends on this path,  also hearken me back to this moment.   Let me take my focus gently from my inner noise, to be receptive to my Higher Power’s will. I can find the Power to walk through these difficult times.

Let me be led by these words today:  

"This day is all I have to work with and it is all I need. If I am tempted to worry about tomorrow concerns, I will gently bring my mind back to today and sanity."

“The past has flown away. The coming months and year do not exist. Ours only is the present’s tiny point.” Shabistari