Sunday, December 4, 2011

Strange coincidences

I am a happy and grateful member of Al Anon.  What strikes me frequently when I read the literature or go to meetings is how - just when I am thinking about some particular issue or worry about some particular thing, the topic of the reading or meeting will just hit it right on the head...I woke up to this "daily reminder" in my inbox and knew I have headed myself in the right direction:

Our silence can keep us isolated.

"Still waters run deep" may be true for lakes and rivers, but in intimate relationships it is not necessarily true. Our silence can keep us isolated from ourselves and from those we love. In order to grow together, we must let each other know how we think and feel. Sometimes just saying a thought or feeling helps us see beyond it.

If we keep our thoughts to ourselves, we may get so immersed in those still waters that we nearly drown in them. A problem kept to ourselves usually grows bigger and more consuming. When we talk about it, we can work through it and move on to something else.

Choose, one concern, small or large, and express it to your partner.
You are reading from the book:

1 comment:

  1. The silences that keep me isolated is the resistance to ask for help or for what I need or want. I do keep silent in sharing problems or when someone pisses me off but I think that I am not worthy of asking for what I want. Here enters my 'you need to guess or read my mind' concept. That usually doesn't work. What has shocked me is that when I have stepped out and asked for what I want....the nuclear war I expected didn't happen. Instead, I usually got it. It was so simple that I missed it on several occassions until Suzy pointed it out for me. I don't think we are meant to be isolated but completely in communion.

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