Women for Sobriety

Monday Thoughts 6.5.23

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“Find the time to read, to smell the flowers, to paint your dreams, to have coffee with a friend, to learn a new craft, to write a letter, to bake a surprise cake, to go somewhere special, to really be with the person you love, or even do nothing for a while….”
Unknown

“Three things you cannot recover in life: the word after it’s said, the moment after it’s missed, and the time after it’s gone.”
Unknown

“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 to do it.”
Lori Deschene

#11 Enthusiasm is my daily exercise.
I treasure the moments of my New Life.

Sobriety and Statement #11 in action enable participation in the present moment. Before New Life, I did my best to avoid much of life; either I was running away from something or was hurrying through to get somewhere else. Feelings of satisfaction or presence were a foreign concept and I constantly felt like life was lacking. Thinking I needed excitement, it was easy to turn to alcohol yet this only took me further away from what I actually needed.

Taking the time to slow down and be present starts in the morning when I read the WFS Statements. This sets the tone for the day and brings awareness to light. In early sobriety I struggled with Statement #11, it was hard to feel enthusiastic about anything. In fact, I felt quite flat, almost without emotion. I was learning how to feel again, to connect with the moment. The clarity of sobriety began to open life up while enabling me to slow down. Gradually I began to experience periods of enthusiasm, especially when achieving a sobriety milestone.

Being connected to a present moment allows for fullness and satisfaction, and the ability to treasure, which alleviates wanting an instant replay while reducing regret. In our WFS Program booklet, it states “Enthusiasm adds fire to life and provides the energy for accomplishment. By making enthusiasm our daily exercise, we can learn to appreciate the value of our New Life.” Taking the time to pause, absorb and be in the moment, this beautiful 4C life is full of treasures!

Hugzzz
Karen

Dear 4C Women,

I liken this Statement #11 to #3 (Happiness is a habit I am developing) in that each comes in moments. When I first read this Statement #11, I thought how in the world can I make enthusiasm my daily exercise when I’m struggling daily with emotional and physical sobriety?  Oh, sure, I’m thrilled and exuding enthusiasm for the life I was living. I had just grasped the meaning of creating my own happiness, now I’m supposed to make enthusiasm my “daily” exercise! Jean created this Statement for a purpose. She had experienced all that each of us was experiencing and I decided to trust her intuition, knowledge, and purpose.

This is when I learned that it is the 2nd part of each Statement that is an action to be taken. I realized that just as happiness is a habit, I create it and not wait for someone or something else to do that. Each of these statements does not mean we are happy or enthusiastic every moment of the day. That would be impossible and lead to feeling like a failure.  I know that is the last thing Jean intended. She was so wise in adding the italicized action part of each Statement. I needed to learn awareness of the “moments” of enthusiasm and joy to appreciate their existence in my daily life. Even with my daughter’s passing, I am reminded each day of the love and support I am receiving even when tears are rolling down my cheeks. For now, I am using the word joy in exchange for enthusiasm as that is what I am experiencing. However, I do feel enthusiasm when I decorate for each season.  I still have my Spring decorations up – plenty of bunnies – as they bring a smile to my face and it’s how I create my happiness. I’m not as enthusiastic when it’s time to change the decorations as that is a lot of hard work. Yet, the moment I start to open each container and begin to decorate, the joy explodes and I am so happy, smiling, and definitely enthusiastic!

Can you recall the last time you felt enthusiastic and joyful?
What is the most challenging about Statement #11?
What is the most rewarding about Statement #11?
How do you practice being in the moment?

Bonded in awareness of enthusiastic, joyful moments, Dee

 

EnJoy the Journey with us – June 9-11th