Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (43 page)

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CTOBER
12

H
ealing demands energy. To sustain my energy I will remember that in my loving of and giving to others, I must keep a little for myself. It’s good to give but not so much that I am emptied. The healthy balance between giving and keeping is important for my recovery.

Today, I can give to others and I can also be my caretaker.

I will not feel guilty for loving and giving to myself, as this is the energy needed for recovery.

Brenda Nixon

Fond as we are of our loved ones, there comes at times during their absence an unexplainable peace.

Anne Shaw

Footnotes for Life

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CTOBER
13

L
ikemany others who have found themselves in trouble, I returned to the church of my childhood when things seemed their darkest. At our Thanksgiving Mass this year, a day we hold as sacred as any other holy day, there was a moment in the liturgy when we stood, held hands and said the Lord’s Prayer together. I held the hand of my eight-year-old, who held the hand of an eighty-year-old, and the circle moved on, handover-hand, unbroken, among the five hundred in church. The presence of God was indisputable, the power of faith breathtaking. In our collective gratitude, we all became, at the moment, immortal.

Nancy Burke

The body is a universe in itself and must be held as sacred as any thing in creation. It is dangerous to forget the body is sacramental.

May Sarton

Footnotes for Life

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CTOBER
14

I
n days past, it seemed that everything she touched died. But she tended a little herb garden. At least there she could make things live . . except for the lemon balm. Year after year, it grew well for a while and then died. It was a little thing, only one plant out of many, but it had become symbolic of all her failures. She finally gave up. Years later, she watched curiously as a tiny plant that was obviously not a weed emerged from the soil. When the leaves grew large enough, she pinched them gently and sniffed. It was a baby lemon balm! Sometimes seeds hibernate. Be patient. They are only waiting for the right time to emerge.

Rhonda Brunea

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Footnotes for Life

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CTOBER
15

I
was thirty-eight years old before I understood that no matter what I did or said, my mother and father could not parent any better than they had. It was beyond their ability and more important, was nothing personal. One of the most precious gifts of my recovery was accepting that my mom and dad just didn’t possess boundless love, endless nurturing, playfulness, tenderness or fun to give. I was lucky enough and had the courage to find a way to let go of my idealized vision of what my parents’ love should look like. Before they passed away, the expressions of love that had started out as unilateral behaviors on my part became mutual.

Ted Klontz

It is a wise father who knows his own child.

William Shakespeare

Footnotes for Life

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CTOBER
16

B
efore recovery I didn’t understand choices; I didn’t realize I actually had them. I spent my life reacting to situations I believed were out of my control.

Now my life is based on choices; I choose how I think, and my thoughts create my reality. I choose how to respond, or not to respond. I move forward, learn to live with my choice, or change my direction.

Deb Sellars Karpek

Right now you are one choice away from a new beginning.

Oprah Winfrey

Footnotes for Life

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CTOBER
17

M
y dad once said, “Everybody has a string pulled a little too tight.” He drew a circle and from the center he drew rays to represent taut strings. One line he labeled VANITY, another GREED; the next, LUST, etc.

I guess Dad was trying to say that nobody is perfect and that, on some level, each of us has a weakness that makes us a bit “nutty.” But we learn and we grow. And if, in the challenges of each day, we persevere and hold firm to our beliefs and our goals, we will flourish.

Kay Conner Pliszka

Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground.

Unknown

Footnotes for Life

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CTOBER
18

Y
ou never truly stop being beautiful. Your age creates a glow of wisdom and confidence that silvers your hair and puts a step of grace into your walk.

You shine as your true self, the one that took the years to perfect.

Nadia Ali

The truly important things in life–love, beauty, and one’s own uniqueness–are constantly being overlooked.

Pablo Casals

Footnotes for Life