tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451509587037762640.post964664942704252093..comments2023-10-29T10:29:53.827-04:00Comments on Just For Today - Leveraging The Tools of Al-Anon: In The Park, A Book, And More PeaceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451509587037762640.post-73564380080088989432008-07-14T14:25:00.000-04:002008-07-14T14:25:00.000-04:00Oy vey, what a deal. Wisdom for 1.99. My jewish ...Oy vey, what a deal. Wisdom for 1.99. My jewish grandma who lived through the Great Depression would have been proud of you. : )<BR/><BR/>Here is another book/God/fate/strange coincidence story for you. It happened four years ago. I thought I'd share.<BR/><BR/>When I was in the midst of the first realization that my husband is an alcoholic, and he was almost constantly drunk in those days, I desperately needed some distraction to take my mind off of the constant anxiety, panic and pressure I was putting myself under. I was stressed out and exhausted and felt like a pile of poop every single day. (can I say poop here? It is not one of the seven dirty words.)<BR/><BR/>I love to read and can fall so deeply into a book that I will stay up and keep reading until I finish it. So knowing what a distraction books can give me I took my panicked, post-traumatic stress syndrome, jumpy, nervous self to the local big chain bookstore. I intended to find a book that would distract me if only temporarily, from my extreme stress. I was desperate for a good read that I could throw myself into but I couldn't find anything that sparked my interest. I must have walked around that store for an hour, but still nothing caught my eye.<BR/><BR/>So I had just about given up hope and was slowly making my way back to the front of the store. In the main aisle where I was walking, there were these long tables with random books piled on them. They were trying to move the inventory, hence their location. I was eyeing them as I slowly made my way to the door.<BR/><BR/>For some reason I stopped at that table and picked up one or two of these books. But neither interested me enough to purchase. The last book I saw was titled "Codependent No More". I thought to myself, "Gee, I've heard that word before, I wonder what it means". So I opened the book and began to read.<BR/><BR/>Holy Moses... it was a book about alcoholics and the people who live with them!!!!1111 <BR/><BR/>What are the odds that I would have gone into a bookstore, when I wanted to forget my alcohol related problems, and purposely searched for a book about alcoholism?! Zero I tell you. But I happened to pick up THAT book just as I was about to leave.<BR/><BR/>Of course I bought it, and it showed me what I WOULD BECOME if I didn't start to immediately address the issues my family was facing. It was just the book I needed at the EXACT TIME I NEEDED IT. I still get goosebumps when I remember this. A guardian angel must have pushed my hand or turned my head to see it. Or maybe it was Chi or Tao or whatever the Asians call it. Or maybe it was some of the good stuff I have done for people in my professional life that was finally coming back to me.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that was the book that served as my first beacon of light and began to clear my head and pave the way through the muck and mire of the next four years, as my husband began his recovery.<BR/><BR/>SuzanneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-451509587037762640.post-23972116606330405432008-07-14T14:19:00.000-04:002008-07-14T14:19:00.000-04:00My God represents the "small" things...He doesn't ...My God represents the "small" things...<BR/><BR/>He doesn't create great skyscrapers, but he created trees...<BR/><BR/>He doesn't design huge airplanes, but he created the bird singing in the tree...<BR/><BR/>So goes my point. He revels in the small things, the simple things. Put them all together and you get "great" things of lasting impact, peace, and contentment.<BR/><BR/>Peace this Monday.<BR/><BR/>KevinBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com