[Butterfly_Faerie]

<font color=purple>Inner Harvest - Meditations for Eating Disorders Recovery</font color=purple>

<font color=red>Outlook</font color=red>

Positive or negative — the choice is ours.

Every day we make a choice: we focus on the positive or on the negative. For instance, we can fix our attention on the weather being too hot or too cold, or we can be thankful for the diversity of the seasons. We can wake up grumbling about having to go to work, or we can wake in gratitude that we are able to earn a living.

Some things will always concern us — paying the bills, raising the children, fixing the roof, staying healthy, getting along with those we love, planning for the future. But if this is all we think about, we are missing the sense of deep appreciation that makes us feel full & satisfied with life’s gifts.

Let’s take a moment today to begin to make a list of the positive, starting with the fact that we’re alive & abstinent.

May I remember today that life is a gift.

<font color=red>Attitude</font color=red>

We attract what we project.

If we meet our world & the people in it, with a smile & the confidence that it’s going to be a good day, we’re likely to get a positive response. Recovery teaches us that we’re responsible for our attitudes. We can decide to seek happiness or remain unhappy, to be negative or positive. Which do you choose today?

No matter where we are, we take with us our moods, our hopes, our beliefs, our dreams, our habits. We take with us attitudes about ourselves & other people. As we recover, we like ourselves better & these good feelings are reflected onto & from those around us.

We can cultivate enthusiasm, concern & caring for others & faith that “God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.”* The more we focus on developing positive attitudes, the more we find them in other people. It’s true — like attracts like

Today I will try to be what I want to attract.

<font color=red>Readiness</font color=red>

We didn’t write the script, but we can play our part.

The drama of our life unfolds as we live it. Since we’re not the playwright, we don’t know what the next scene will bring, but we can keep body, heart, mind & spirit, in the best possible shape for whatever action is to occur.

We take our cues from those around us & we believe that a Higher Power is in charge. The Twelve Steps are gently releasing us from the tyranny of feeling we must always be on center stage. Fortunately, that’s not necessary or possible. Our role is important, but we are only one in a cast of billions.

Finding our place, moving gracefully & appropriately, learning our lines so we spontaneously respond to the opportunity of the moment, blending harmoniously with our fellow players — this is the art of a lifetime. This is what recovery is all about.

May I play my part in the action planned for today.

<font color=red>Amends</font color=red>

To repair a broken relationship, someone must make the first move.

I’m hurt & so are you. I’m angry & so are you. Perhaps we both have “just cause,” but we will remain stalemated unless one of us is willing to begin making amends & moving toward reconciliation.

When a relationship with a friend, neighbor, co-worker or family member is one of hostility, nobody wins. Both parties are uncomfortable. We know from experience that self-pity & anger are emotions we can’t afford to let fester. They destroy serenity & send us in the direction of our eating disorder. We also know how hard it is to put aside our pride & make a move that will allow the other party to lower his or her defenses.

If I sincerely try to make amends, but my efforts are rejected — well, that’s the risk I take. But if I don’t take the risk, I will continue to be uncomfortable. The effort to make amends to the best of my ability helps me let go of festering hurt, anger & resentment. Serenity returns.

May I not be too proud to do today what I can to make amends.

<font color=red>Journey of Life</font color=red>

Looking back, we can see where we’ve been.

When we’re in transit, growing psychologically, we’re not always sure where we are. In fact, we may frequently be confused, wondering why we’re experiencing unrest, apprehension or uneasiness. We hack through the emotional underbrush, clearing the way so we can advance, but we may not know where the path leads. We may lose sight of familiar landmarks, but we press on, hoping we’re moving forward.

Transitional periods in our recovery come when we make important changes. We give up the security of a familiar job for a new one with more potential & challenge. We move out of a relationship that is detrimental to our growth. We undergo a powerful experience that alters our philosophical outlook on life.

Going through a transitional stage is like climbing a hill. There comes a time when we reach the top, turn around & look behind at the terrain we’ve covered & recognize the progress we’ve made. It’s a good feeling.

If I’m not sure where I am today, I will take time to look back & appreciate the progress I’ve made.

<font color=red>Rejection</font color=red>

When we don’t get what we want, we may get something better.

The closing of the door on a cherished dream is hard to accept. We lose out on a promotion or are rejected by someone we love–life seems unfair & we fail to understand how a Higher Power could possibly be on our side.

Doors close — each one of us knows how that feels — but other doors eventually open. Keeping our spirits up & our faith strong during the interim is our challenge. We want to resist the “what’s the use?” attitude that undermines recovery. If the opening of those other doors were to depend solely on our own efforts, we might have cause for discouragement & pessimism, but fortunately this is not the case. Experience teaches us that some doors we cannot open ourselves; instead, they are opened to us when we are ready.

The perspective of time clarifies our interpretation of events that at close range might seem disastrous. We lose out on one job, but after a time we’re offered a better one. Rejection opens the way to a new relationship. We can have faith that we will receive the good that is ours.

Today, I will have faith, knowing that doors will open for me when I am ready.

<font color=red>Stress</font color=red>

Create a sense of serenity in your life.

Developing a sustaining sense of serenity requires time. Time to do the things we need to do without rushing. Time for meditation. Time for just being with ourselves & moving quietly from one task to another. In this way, we develop a deep core of serenity, which sustains us in times of stress & strain.

The next time you feel yourself getting upset, stop & connect with the core of serenity within you. Savor the peace & stillness you felt during quieter times. Remember that a Higher Power is in charge of your life. Consider the damage you may do to yourself & others by giving vent to your distress. Then test how it would feel to let go of the agitation & replace it with the serenity you have deep within you.

Take a few moments now to sit quietly & connect with your abiding sense of serenity. Be at peace.

In today’s quiet times, I will create a core of serenity to draw from in the future.

<font color=red>Paitence</font color=red>

Sometimes we need to learn something more than once.

Knowledge, even when it comes by way of painful experience, doesn’t always stick. Some of us may find ourselves repeating an unhappy learning experience more than once before the message begins to affect our subsequent patterns of behavior. We remember, “Oh, yes, I tried that before & it didn’t work then either. I hope I won’t have to try it again.”

With luck, we won’t. But if we do, we can treat ourselves with kindness. Another binge, another angry outburst, another mishandling of a relationship — we’d rather not repeat the pain, but here we are again & gentle patience is the most constructive response.

Along with our commitment to recovery, we can make a commitment to accept ourselves wherever we are today. We’re learning what works for us & what does not. When we’re willing to repeat the lessons as many times as necessary until what works becomes automatic, we will eventually reach our goal

I am willing to do today whatever it takes to get better.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://open-mind.org/Daily/Reading/14.htm>http://open-mind.org/Daily/Reading/14.htm</A>






<font color=red>~Sundance~</font color=red>

<font color=blue>"Never react emotionally to criticism. Analyze yourself to determine whether it is justified. If it is, correct yourself. Otherwise, go on about your business."</font color=blue>

<font color=black>Norman Vincent Peale</font color=black>