February 27

”Turn your face to the sunshine and all shadows fall behind.” Helen Keller

I have referred to my past as a shadow, a scar, a darkness, a deep pit, an angry wolf and other names in a similar vein. It’s not something that I typically look at from any sort of positive view. It is a stain on my soul, on my being, that I wish I could was away. But it is not so temporary. I have a choice today, a choice to let that murky past overshadow my present, to be the little black cloud over my head that follows everywhere that I go. Or, I can choose to leave the past where it belongs, behind me, and turn towards the sun and the good choices I am making in recovery. This is one of the great freedoms I have found since finding the program, the ability to choose to live in the present and find the positive in the world around me. In my journey so far, there have even been moments where I have looked at my shadow-self and embraced it. Although I may not welcome all that has happened, I am at least grateful that it was part of what brought me here to this moment. It was not perhaps the best way I could have reached where I am, but then again, maybe it was the path I was meant to follow. I would not be the same person without all the experiences that have come my way.

Affirmation I have a good power in being able to decide today, right now, how to view my past, and to let it darken my skies, or to rejoice and give thanks for letting it bring me to this moment.