Co-Dependants Anonymous
Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: Freedom


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1190
Date:
Freedom
Permalink  
 


Friday, July 24, 2015

You are reading from the book Today's Gift

I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.
  —Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was a Black woman who devoted her life to helping slaves escape their bondage. In her youth, she had been hit on the head so she suffered dizzy spells for the rest of her life. In spite of this, and at great risk to her own life, she guided many slaves on the Underground Railroad to freedom.

Freedom from slavery is different today but just as necessary. It may mean freedom from being a slave to what others think of us, freedom from eating more than is healthy for us, freedom from jealousy, and freedom from trying to force others to do what we want them to do.

We are free to be the very best persons we can be. Our own freedom can be even more fulfilling when we welcome others enthusiastically into that land of freedom by allowing them the room to be themselves without fear of judgment. In this way, by freeing ourselves, we free one another.

How can I free myself today?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher.

 

Today's Gift is available for purchase in our online bookstore.

Make Today's Gift my default Thought for the Day Category.

 

 



__________________

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.   ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. ~St. Francis of Assisi



Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 31
Date:
Permalink  
 

This post drew me back to reading it.  I can relate to Harriett Tubman.  As I progress and get healthier, I notice that I, too, am in a foreign place.  To me.  To my loved ones.  To anyone who knows me.  Even a good thing takes some time to adjust and "settle in" .  I read her story and it was amazing.  She got hit in the head as a child and would have fainting spells and some even said she had visions.  Not sure if she was visionary or prophetic, but for sure she was amazing.  She escaped slavery in 1849 and went BACK to retrieve her family , thus the underground railroad.  Many times she went back and forth leading other slaves to freedom, risking her life, each time.  She was the only black woman to lead an armed assault on a confederate slave holding camp and freed the slaves there.  She was called "little Moses"  and deservedly so



__________________

Katie J. 

Love begins within me and then radiates out to the universe



Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1190
Date:
Permalink  
 

Yes, I agree that this new way of living can sometimes feel isolating.  I have found a joy and freedom that few understand.  I've actually always had it, an extra little pinch of optimism and gratitude, so now that I actively practice and try to enhance these things, it sets me apart from the rest and I appear kind of crazy and weird.  I don't mind.

The latest example was on a business trip and a HUGE storm rolled through.  You could find me out running in it, drenched through, with lots of laughter and gratitude.  Dance like no one is watching ... or in my case ... live like no one is watching.

I love it.  I will never get a single day back to do over again.  I want to make each one count and I have SO MUCH to be thankful for.

 

Including you.  So glad you are here Katie.

Willing



__________________

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.   ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. ~St. Francis of Assisi



Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 31
Date:
Permalink  
 

Hi Willing

I can picture you dancing in the rain.  When I am not sick w/my PTSD, I like to do spontaneous stuff.  I am not a "hang out" type person, I am reserved, wary of humans but I love to get out side with my dogs and just play with them.   Today is a not so good day.  AC needs the repair man and I am thinking   "tired of negative energy getting my money.  When UPS gets here with my Iphone5s, I am going to go to the Provider's store and for $100 more I can pick up a IPhone 6 b/c I am upgrading my contract.  If my credit card is going to be bloated, let some of it be a fun thing for me.

I am practicing new behaviours learned in the program to try and force me to be more mindful, in the present, etc., as a managment tool for this PTSD.  Like when I feel my anger coming, I try to catch it early (many failures there) and ASK me  "is this really worth it??"   "what is the real reason I am angry??"  Many times it is just the PTSD and the compromised coping skills that go with it.  I am not gong to give up on me.  Part of managing it is getting out and doing fun stuff.  Silly stuff.  Playful stuff.  I hope this post made sense.  I am waiting for the always late AC man.  house is 93 degrees inside.  Fans blowing all over so it helps.  If he doesn't show up pretty soon, I will just call him and tell him I have stuff to do and HE can wait for ME.  Temps are not so bad these next couple of days.  I survived today, so I can be ok for a while.



__________________

Katie J. 

Love begins within me and then radiates out to the universe



Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 244
Date:
Permalink  
 

Thank you for your honest shares. There's so much great stuff on this site that it makes even my good stuff seem bad. I just felt horribly alone in my bad stuff. I think I'm getting better even though my situation is getting worse. If I just keep up with it I might be ok. I'd like to be doing better than ok and have a cult following, but that just makes me tired. So ok it is. I gather from other Christians that as I get better I will be in direct opposition with satan and things will be almost intolerably worse until I make a breakthrough. I can already see a hint of a better tomorrow. Meanwhile the test by fire actually changes my fragile clay form into a stronger clay pot that is useful for something good. I've decided that my mom might be making me a better person now that I'm working a program. And she can have some bright colored clothes if she wants even if they will go out of style in a minute. They'll only last a year. And it might be the only chance she has to be happy with them. I don't want to be like she was when she was a kid and this is her second childhood. So let her live it. Now she doesn't want that. Lol. Ok. I'll help her clean her closets because that's the last things we need to get to before we attack the basement. Whew. I don't know how we're going to clean the basement. Thanks again.

__________________


Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 5
Date:
Permalink  
 

I love that question......How can I free myself today?

I will think about this today, while I am at work. 



__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.