Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (16 page)

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ere we given the choice, not many of us would choose to learn the hard lessons. They overtake us nevertheless. And yet they are not without value, these painful experiences. Whether visited upon us unfairly at the hand of another or brought on by our own bad choices, we have the ability to select our attitude from this point forward. We can glean every possible goodness from present circumstances and resolve to learn all that may be learned, not only for our own benefit but to help ease the way of fellow learners.

Rhonda Brunea

Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.

C.S. Lewis

Footnotes for Life

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arathons are won one inch at a time, and twenty pounds are lost one ounce at a time. We must simply repeat the same action over and over and over again, until we win. We only get what we are working for by a series of little actions, one boring move at a time. Success in life has to do with a simple faithfulness to do what we know how to do, one task at a time, one moment at a time. Success has everything to do with simply waking up one more day and moving forward.

Barbara A. Croce

Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.

Christopher Morley

Footnotes for Life

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ometimes I’m more generous and forgiving towards others than of myself. It’s easy to be at war within–harsh, judgmental, focusing on faults. Today will be the beginning of fairness. I’ll be a friend to myself; generous and forgiving. I will talk gently, and appreciate my strengths. I acknowledge there are areas of needed improvement that I must work on, but I will practice being as supportive with my inner person as I am to others.

This is especially critical for my recovery. I can be my own best friend in word, thought and deed.

Brenda Nixon

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.

Goethe

Footnotes for Life

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f we all approached each of our days as if they were the last, perhaps we would finally understand that a life well lived is our greatest responsibility and our ultimate glory. The prospect of death wouldn’t be so frightening. Of course we are a relentlessly hopeful group–that’s what makes us human–and who are we not to believe we can live forever? In many ways we do.

Take the time to savor, like never before, every rise and set of the sun, every phase of everymoon, each rain shower and cloudless sky, all the rich and myriad sights and sounds and smells that are ordinary and extraordinary.

Nancy Burke

And if the earthly no longer knows your name, whisper to the silent earth: I’m flowing. To the flashing water say: I am.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Footnotes for Life

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hat do you say to someone who has manipulated, abused and controlled you for years? What do you say to someone who has lied to you for your entire life? What do you say to someone who ultimately wants to destroy you? I sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally I asked, “Why do you try to control my every move? Why won’t you just leave me alone?” In the few seconds that it took me to ask those two questions, I felt just a little bit of separation from ED–an acronym for my eating disorder. And it felt so good.

Jenni Schaefer

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Footnotes for Life

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often feel so impatient when things don’t change more quickly than I want them to. My old way of thinking left me desperate for immediate gratification. If something didn’t happen right away, I changed course and tried another approach with the same high standards of immediacy. That included everything from what I cooked for dinner, to the newposition forwhich I applied, to demanding that a relationship develop the way Iwanted it to, rather thanwaiting to see how it would develop naturally. Today, I have learned to be conscious of slowing down, lowering my expectations and understanding the different stages in any process. I am happier all around, and I cook better meals!

Anne Conner

Growth in wisdom may be exactly measured by decrease in bitterness.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Footnotes for Life

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ow do I put the pieces of my life back together? What do I do with those misshapen parts of myself, the parts that are old, frayed and tattered? Let me take a lesson from the quilt maker. I will examine all parts of myself before I make decisions to “keep” or “throw out.” Who I am is all I have to work with. There is no need to rip myself apart and start over. Recovery is the art of making order out of chaos. With love and patience, I am learning how to make order out of my personal chaos. A work of art is in the making.

Rokelle Lerner

You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it.

J. Krishnamurti

Footnotes for Life