Judgment Day

"I shall tell you a great secret, my friend. Do not wait for the last judgment, it takes place every day." == Albert Camus

It is easy to hope that at some time in the future we may redeem ourselves by some great act of heroism or undergo a dramatic conversion of sorts. But in the meantime, all too often, it's business as usual. Too easily we can become used to our unhealthy behaviors, denying that our acting-out has harmed anyone... except ourselves and those we love and who love and trust us. Deep down we knew we were judging ourselves and being judged. Now, each day, we can assess our actions and evaluate our behavior. In this way, we learn how our behavior has affected every part of our lives and our relationships.

It is time to change. The longer we wait, the more ingrained are our habits and ways of perceiving and deceiving. If we live a lie, we will be judged accordingly, by ourselves and those close to us. We can change and grow and move ahead into the openness and fullness of each new day.

Saving Yourself

FORGIVE THE PAST!

LIVE THE DAY!

LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW!

"Forgive the past by releasing the pain it will only hurt you and others.

Live the day by forgiving the past and looking forward to tomorrow, you can't change either without changing your actions today.

Look forward to tomorrow by building and sharing you love to help you achieve your goals."

LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU CAN LOVE OTHERS!

My dear friend Cliff wrote this for me the other day. He is aware of the struggle I'm having releasing the past, f0rgiving, and moving on. I'm grateful to have a friend like Cliff.

Feeling is the Inner Life; Expression is the Outer Life

I've realized that there's a difference between my ability to feel, my ability to express my feelings, and my ability to let go. I know there are many painful emotions I learned to suppress when I was young, particularly anger or sadness. Other emotions might be difficult to feel because they are connected to past pain.

Yet there's no letting go, no moving on, until I stop trying to avoid feelings such as sorrow, anger, rage or despair. I have found the way to begin working through difficult feelings is to reach out to people with a phone call, email, blog comment or going to a meeting. Other ways I have found to help are writing (blogging or journaling), having a good cry, or plan a healing ritual which can be as simple as taking a couple of days alone, just to think. For some of us, turning to our Higher Power, as we know it provides the spiritual help and nourishment we need.

The release that will come as a result of expressing our feelings will help to ease the pain. It's not realistic to release all of the pain from our past all at once, but we can begin by letting go of a little piece today.