โWhen one has once fully entered the realm of love, the world โ no matter how imperfectโbecomes rich and beautiful, it consists solely of opportunities for love.โ
Sรธren Kierkegaard
โIf you go deeper and deeper into your own heart, youโll be living in a world with less fear, isolation and loneliness.โ
Sharon Salzberg
โThere is no better compass than compassion.โ
Amanda Gorman
#10 All love given returns.
I am learning to know that I am loved.
Sobriety and Statement #10 in action allows love to bounce back like a boomerang, touching lives as it flows across relationships, through strangers, even arching into generations. Before my New Life, I often misunderstood love and confused it with control. Alcohol had severed my ability to grasp love and helped me avoid it. It was a painfully lonely feeling.
Our founder, Jean Kirkpatrick, PhD wrote in her book Goodbye Hangovers Hello Life โThere is just no way around what needs to be done by us to have loving relationships. We must first repair ourselves, and then we will be able to love others and receive love in an adult and mature way. We will not be suspicious of the love but will be trusting, something new to us. We will be able to be trusting because we will feel strength from within ourselves that we can depend upon.โ
This was new territory, and I was willing to learn thanks to the encouragement from many 4C women. Oftentimes, I wanted to jump ahead, to skip through to the next chapter but taking each day as it came, experiencing each moment enabled small yet steady growth while healing happened. Trust became a two-way street while my perceptions were sharpened. Being vulnerable in face-to-face meetings and on the WFS Online Forum, love opened the door to an unlimited world!
What do you value about yourself?
What does love look like for you on a daily basis?
What rules or conditions can you relinquish to love yourself unconditionally?
Join me in sending love to our WFS Monday Thoughts co-author Dee W. as she continues healing from her recent surgery.
Hugzzz
Karen
In the D.C. metro area?
Michelle Shaivitz, WFS Executive Director, will be representing usย in Washington, D.C. during the Walk for Recovery. If you are in the area, you should join in with the community and celebrate recovery.
Date: September 5th
Time: 2-5pm Eastern
Where: Freedom Plaza, Washington, D.C.
