Life is a packaged deal. It is not enough to only look at the parts we like. It is necessary to face the whole picture so that we can make realistic choices for ourselves and stop setting ourselves up for disappointment.
Living with alcoholics, many of us coped with an ever-shifting situation in which our sense of reality changed from one minute to the next. We adapted by taking whatever part of reality suited us and ignoring the rest. Again and again we were devastated because reality didn't go away just because it was ignored. Our lives will remain unmanageable as long as we pretend that only half of the truth is real. That's why sharing is an important part of the Al-Anon tool. When we share with other members about what's really going on, we cut through the denial and anchor ourselves in reality.
While it may be difficult to face certain facts, when we allow ourselves to confront them, we cease to give our own denial the power to devastate us at every turn.
Today's Reminder
I can't cope with something unless I acknowledge its reality. When I am willing to take a look at the whole picture, I take a first step towards a more manageable life.
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.Now put foundations under them." Henry David Thoreau
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