Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (2 page)

T
oday I have a fresh start. I choose to begin letting go of unhealthy thoughts, feelings and attitudes that have stifled my growth. Today I choose to think new thoughts, to look at new values and to find new ways of expressing my God-given gifts. I now choose to deepen my understanding of others and myself. I will look at my relationships with family and my friends in a new light. I choose to have vital, healthy interactions with others. I truly welcome this new day, this new year and this new me. I welcome the wonderful possibilities open to me.

Rokelle Lerner

Be like a sponge when it comes to each new experience. If you want to be able to express it well, you must first be able to absorb it well.

Jim Rohn

Footnotes for Life

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hen I grew up, I learned not to rock the boat; asserting my own opinions and desires could get me in trouble. Sometimes I carry this over in my parenting; I don’t take a stand or set limits. When my children push or threaten to get angry, the fear I felt as a child comes up and my reaction is to placate them and keep the peace. This is not healthy. I need to feel those fears I felt as a child along with the sense of helplessness that overwhelmed me. I need to separatemyself as a child from myself as an adult. I also need to separate my inner child from the child I am raising.

Tian Dayton

Loving a child doesn’t mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.

Nadia Boulanger

Footnotes for Life

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hen I was a teen, my grandmother taught me how to cross-stitch. I was apprehensive at first, sure that my disability would interfere. It always did. My grandmother reassured me that I could do simple patterns at my own pace. There were curses; there were smiles. There were times I quit and times I began again. But when I completed my first pattern I realized the mistakes and curses were twined with perfect stitches and smiles to create something brand new. Just like life.

It’s a lesson I re-learn every time I thread a needle.

Christyna Hunter