“The most beautiful things in life are not things. They’re people and places and memories and pictures. They’re feelings and moments and smiles and laughter.”
Unknown
“Sometimes you get what you want. Other times, you get a lesson in patience, empathy, compassion, faith, perseverance, resilience, humility, trust, meaning, awareness, resistance, purpose, clarity, grief, beauty, and life. Either way, you win.”
Brianna West
“Take a little time to be amazed by something you won’t enjoy unless you consciously choose to focus on it. See the things you can’t see when you’re rushing. Hear the things you can’t hear when you’re stressing. Get so caught up in your senses that everything else seems to stop for a moment—because things don’t actually stop. So, we have to be the ones who do it.”
Lori Deschene
#6 Life can be ordinary or it can be great.
Greatness is mine by a conscious effort.
For years, one of the places on my bucket list to experience has been Greece. This past fall, thanks to WFS and the 13 Statements I stood in awe of the very first Olympic platform where past athletes had been crowned. As I took in that moment, the awareness of my own gold medal made the circle complete; sobriety and recovery were shining brightly. Statement #6 was interwoven into every moment of that special excursion.
As a part of the New Attitudes with Level 4, action into Statement #6 provides growth and expands gratefulness. In our WFS Program booklet it states, “Although we only get a one-way ticket through life, we speed through our days as if planning to enjoy them at another time. We live as if we have endless tomorrows.” Alcohol removed the ability to fully experience life but embracing moments became a new habit through sobriety.
Learning how to slow down and live life consciously takes investment and time. Some days are easier than others, but actively reminding myself helps me to slow down and savor the ordinary as well as those special moments. Even if I am washing the same bowl for the hundredth time, I have a new opportunity to experience the warmth of the water, the light popping of the soapy bubbles, or the weight of the beautiful vessel. This week, find ways to incorporate slowing down and savoring, making a cup of tea or coffee, taking a quiet bath, or the scent of the winter breeze.
Hugzzz
Karen
Hi 4C Women,
I love the quotes Karen shared and her awareness of the gold medal she earned in recovery. It is so insightful to realize the rewards of hard work in traveling on this empowering journey. It can be difficult to visualize life as being great when starting to work on our recovery. Emotionally, there are stops and starts yet with perseverance, there is that light at the end of the tunnel. It can be dim yet it is there and will grow as we practice the WFS New Life program. I feel that Statement #6 is all about life lessons in personal growth. I learned patience when the outcome I hoped for didn’t come about. I learned gratefulness for the wonderful things that did happen.
It all goes back to the 2nd quote, “Sometimes you get what you want. Other times, you get a lesson in patience, empathy, compassion, faith, perseverance, resilience, humility, trust, meaning, awareness, resistance, purpose, clarity, grief, beauty, and life. Either way, you win.” ~~Brianna West
Just the idea of learning all those emotional strengths is amazing to me. I appreciate the ordinary when life feels chaotic, I appreciate the extraordinary moments because of the awareness I’ve gained. We get to choose how we define and experience greatness. It can be those people that brought love and light to our lives and created fond, precious memories. As we practice this Statement, we can be the creators of such joy in our hearts and be that light for others. Most of all, it is so crucial to not judge our lives by others. Our experiences of greatness in the ordinary or greatness in the moments of joy are ours alone to define as we feel it.
I am constantly inspired by the women I have met in WFS. Against extreme challenges and roadblocks, there is that desire to keep going, to find the greatness in the ordinary, the joy in awareness. Through the years, I have had times when I was really down and because of WFS, I acknowledged those difficult feelings rather than numb or pretend they didn’t exist. It goes the same for acknowledging joyful feelings. To have that awareness embraces the whole you, the you that is working hard and open to positive change.
May you have awareness of the ordinary being great, personal growth taking place, and life lessons being learned. Bonded, Dee
Announcing the launch of our annual Teddy Bear Challenge fundraiser!!! This is one of our largest events to raise funds to sustain the programs and services offered by Women for Sobriety, Inc. You can help in two ways:
MAKE A DONATION! You can make your donation online here: womenforsobriety.org/donatetbc or download this form to mail in your donation.
ADOPT A BEAR! The Teddy Bear Challenge needs volunteers or groups to stuff the bears, raise awareness in the WFS community, or organize/perform a supporting activity for the event.
This is your opportunity to be creative and embrace Statement 10: “All love given returns.”
Contact [email protected] if you are interested.