With our annual yard sale in full swing, my daughter reminded me this morning that I don’t have to be there for the whole thing. I could go home and let others carry the load. It seems I am still needing to recover from my codependence. We all like to be needed, but really… It all reminded me of a reading we often used in our CoDa meeting. I think it may have been borrowed from one of Melodie Beattie’s books that we used quite a bit in our meetings. Anyway, it went something like this:
Recovering from codependency (or any addiction) is exciting. It is liberating. It lets us be who we are. It also lets others be who they are., It helps us own our God-given power to think, feel, and act. Recovering feels good. It brings peace. It enables us to love ourselves just as we are because we know we are capable of changing and growing. It allows us to love others without judging. It allows us to receive love and to give love…all of that good stuff for which we’ve been longing. Being in recovery helps stop that unbearable pain we’ve carried around all too long.
Recovering is not only fun, it is simple. It is not always easy, but it is simple. We learn how to recover by working the 12 steps, which are based on the premise that each person is responsible for themselves, which means that before we can help anyone else, we have to learn to take care of ourselves first.
And to that, I say amen!