DAY ONE

~ STOP ALL CRITICISM ~

CRITICISM NEVER CHANGES A THING.
REFUSE TO CRITICIZE YOURSELF.
ACCEPT YOURSELF EXACTLY AS YOU ARE.
EVERYBODY CHANGES.
WHEN YOU CRITICIZE YOURSELF,
YOUR CHANGES ARE NEGATIVE.
WHEN YOU APPROVE OF YOURSELF,
YOUR CHANGES ARE POSITIVE

DAY TWO

~ DON'T SCARE YOURSELF ~

DON'T SCARE YOURSELF.
STOP TERRORIZING YOURSELF
WITH YOUR THOUGHTS.
IT'S A DREADFUL WAY TO LIVE!
FIND A MENTAL IMAGE THAT GIVES YOU PLEASURE
( MINE IS A WATERFALL),
AND IMMEDIATLEY SWITCH YOUR SCARY THOUGHT
TO A PLEASURABLE THOUGHT.

DAY THREE

~ BE GENTLE AND KIND AND PATIENT ~

BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF.
BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF
AS YOU LEARN THE NEW WAYS OF THINKING.
TREAT YOURSELF AS YOU WOULD
SOMEONE YOU REALLY, REALLY LOVED.

The greatest gift we can ever give to ourselves is to love us. By doing this, we give ourselves the ability to love others more. To love God more. To love those we have resentments toward more. And to love life more.

Day One was the day we tried to understand how much criticism has harmed us in the past. How much it has affected our whole lives. And how it made us even criticize others more ... and we might not have even realized it because we were so used to having it heaped on us.

Day Two we tallking of visualization and MAKING ourselves think beautiful thoughts when we were frightened. A kind of self-hypnosis. Actually a kind of listening more intently to God who is never going to let us have anything in our lives that we can't handle.

Today is Day Three and while we may have learned how to be gentle, kind and patient with ourselves ... that doesn't necessarily mean we love ourselves enough yet.

Sometimes I am going at such a pace that I literally must STOP what I'm doing and say to myself that I'm treating myself badly. That I'm pushing myself beyond endurance. That I am just in too much pain.

Have you ever sat in a comfortable chair and taken your hand and pretended it was a loved one's hand. And closed your eyes and stroked the side of your face? And when you finished that gotten up from the chair in slow motion and began ambling through your home rather than running from place to place? I have. It makes me feel valued. Loved.

I have learned to be patient. If I can be patient, anyone in the entire world can. I was one of the original ones who said "Dear God, please give me patience and give it to me NOW!!!!" Life is much more fun being patient than impatient. My husband is not a very patient fellow. I look at him sometimes at a stoplight and I can just SEE the energy he's using up waiting for the light to change.

And guess what? That stoplight didn't change one bit faster!

Gentleness?
Kindness?
Patience?
No self-criticism?
Visualization of beautiful things?

Think we can do those things?

Think we can really, really love ourselves?

I'm going to try.

Until tomorrow ~ ~ ~

Dear God,
Please help me know
how essential being
gentle with myself is.
Help me to treat ME with
kindness. And I'd like also
to be a little more patient.

Love,
Mari
Marisok@aol.com
The Recovery Group







Copyright © 1998-2001 The RECOVERY Group