October 26

”Just because someone has a lot to teach us doesn't mean we like them.  People who have the most to teach us are often the ones who reflect back to us the limits to our own capacity to love, those who consciously or unconsciously challenge our fearful positions.  They show us our walls.” Marianne Williamson

I’d actually go a step further, and suggest that the people who have the most to teach me are the ones I like the least. This is mostly due to the fact that they see through me defenses and persist in challenging me to confront myself and my real issues. They are not willing to put up with my BS, they are genuinely interested in helping me get better Maybe I am being a bit too hard on these folks. It’s true in the beginning that I dislike them, but as I face my fears, confront the challenges, and allow myself to hear and respond to their criticism, I have learned to appreciate and respect them. I have certainly needed tough love like this to make it through various stages of my life, and certainly my recovery. The walls of my defenses were built to protect me when I didn’t know how to handle life differently. Now that I am learning new methods of coping with the stresses of life, the pain of emotional conflict, and my addiction, the walls are coming down, brick by brick.

Affirmation I am grateful for those people who are willing to tell me like it is and push me to confront my problems. Recovery is tough, and tough love is required.