I am only in control of my choices and reactions
I accept that I am not my own higher power
I recognize that in order to begin to experience serenity I must accept that I am powerless over people places and things
I will be present in the understanding that "Thy will be done"
I know your hand guides my life through all joys and hardships
I have experienced many times the presence of your influence when I choose to believe that you have y back through any storm
You have never failed to provide and lead me to gentler shores
I ask you to oversee my journey through the twelve steps
Please continue to place me where I can be taught by the experience, strength, and hope of others who have walked the path of recovery, both before and after me
Continue to help me grow and to learn how to care about myself and take care of myself when the chaos of others bangs on my door looking to disrupt my hard earned serenity
Help me to be open to truly discovering and uncovering more about myself
Help me be brave in the face of hard truths
Help me to be brave enough to be true to myself when fear motivates old patterns in my behavoir
Help me remember how to show up as my best self or to forgive myself when I don't
Guide me from step to step and from day to day as I practice what I am learning on this journey
Help me walk honestly and to be vulnerable when appropriate
Use my voice to help others when I share my experiences
Place me in the time and place that I am needed and that I need
Be the gateway that marks my path to a new way of living and continue to speak loudly in my life as you always have
Help me to remember you are always beside me, even in the darkest despair
You are always the light of hope that reminds me it cannot always be night
I surrender to your loving will and plan for my life
I am only in control of my choices and reactions
I accept that I am not my own higher power
I recognize that in order to begin to experience serenity I must accept that I am powerless over people places and things
I will be present in the understanding that "Thy will be done"
I know your hand guides my life through all joys and hardships
I have experienced many times the presence of your influence when I choose to believe that you have y back through any storm
You have never failed to provide and lead me to gentler shores
I ask you to oversee my journey through the twelve steps
Please continue to place me where I can be taught by the experience, strength, and hope of others who have walked the path of recovery, both before and after me
Continue to help me grow and to learn how to care about myself and take care of myself when the chaos of others bangs on my door looking to disrupt my hard earned serenity
Help me to be open to truly discovering and uncovering more about myself
Help me be brave in the face of hard truths
Help me to be brave enough to be true to myself when fear motivates old patterns in my behavoir
Help me remember how to show up as my best self or to forgive myself when I don't
Guide me from step to step and from day to day as I practice what I am learning on this journey
Help me walk honestly and to be vulnerable when appropriate
Use my voice to help others when I share my experiences
Place me in the time and place that I am needed and that I need
Be the gateway that marks my path to a new way of living and continue to speak loudly in my life as you always have
Help me to remember you are always beside me, even in the darkest despair
You are always the light of hope that reminds me it cannot always be night
I surrender to your loving will and plan for my life
-gws
Gentle Mother, Goddess of Light
Who is my provider and peacemaker
My guardian and counselor
Who is my teacher and my grace
I lay my weary head down upon your thigh
And relax into your comforting embrace
As a child with her mother
I release my fears and worries over to your care
And float, unburdened, in the warmth of your love
I bare to you my imperfections and am reminded that I am exactly as I am meant to be
I ask you to guide me to always do the next right thing
I ask you to remind me to be as forgiving of myself as you are of me
My love and trust in you are perfect
As your love and guidance for me is perfect
Help me to be where my feet are
Help me to manifest strength when I need
Help me to think and act with compassion for others and myself
Help me to forgive more willingly
Help me to know and live my truth regardless of others' understanding of it
Help me to set aside my defenses and listen with empathy
Help me to find a little more patience when I fall short
Help me to know when to stand and when to withdraw
May I be humbled and inspired by you
And may I manifest your motherly love in all directions I travel in this life
-gws
I will slow and be observant of this moment
I will breathe deep and remember that Divinity is suspended within that breath
I will release expectations and surrender to the experience of unfolding
I will still myself and listen to the music in the rustling of wind in leaves
I will raise my face and rejoice in the splashing of rain
I will find magic in my children's laughter
I will be watchful for the spontaneous manifestation of joy
I will allow space for silence so I can leave room to hear my own soul speak
I will radiate compassion for myself and others
I will love myself at lease as much as others love me
I will forgive myself when I forget my grace
I will practice replacing anger and resentment with empathy for the other
I will stop to replenish my own cup before trying to fill the cups of others
I will try shifting my perspective when I am conflicted in order to scout a path through
I will accept myself as I am for I am perfectly imperfect as a forever evolving work in progress
I will always stand back up despite life's bruises and pain even if it takes me a minute for I am resilient
I will remember that strength is also knowing when to rest and relinquish and try again tomorrow
-gws
Accepting powerlessness does not equate to resignation. Accepting my powerlessness over people, places, and things is working to accept the things I cannot change or control in a way which invites serenity and hope for a different way of existing.
Resignation is acceptance of what is undesirable, but inevitable. Resignation implies resentment and judgment are involved; a sense of, "I have no choice." Accepting my powerlessness is very much a choice, and an impowered one I'm compelled to make every time I recognize I'm in a situation where I cannot control the details or the outcome.
By accepting my powerlessness, I am making two choices: to care for my own sanity, and to live with hope. In accepting my powerlessness, I can release my self-inflicted codependent chains which weigh me down and add to my suffering. By freeing myself from the compulsive desire to influence the outcome of situations that are not mine to own, manage or fix, I can start to regain a sense of peace and calm.
I can only be responsible for me and my reactions. I cannot take on the responsibility of others, their behavior, or their reactions. Embracing that truth brings a great sense of freedom. Letting go and letting God, in whatever form I envision God, returns me to myself. I'm not trying to herd cats or conduct the orchestra while rewriting the score to "make it better." That's not my job. That's not my responsibility. I cannot prevent or protect others from the consequences of their own choices. I cannot be someone else's higher power, nor do I wish to be.
I strive to stay where my feet are, to check in with myself, and to do my best to only manage me. The rest I have to put into the hands of the higher power of my own imagining, and trust that Power will use my love and faith to bring into being what is in my best interest. I also trust that other people's higher powers will do the same for them.
-gws
The world is scary and uncertain
The unknown is casting a long, dark shadow on life as we understood it
It feels like I'm tumbling in rough surf and I can barely catch my breath
When things feel big, I need to make them smaller
I can do this through gratitude
I can reframe my circumstances from a place of grace over fear
In a moment where loss and fear govern, I look to the blessings I see all around
Like seedlings taking root in the dark, forgotten places
Cancer proved to be a blessing
It may have introduced it's own book of fears, but it also prevented someone I love from traveling at a time when many people were falling ill, and we had no recourses yet
I feel this truth in my gut
The Pandemic helped me access assistance that was previously off limits to me
It has changed the way I work, making it easier to be available to my family while continuing to be employed and safe
It has reminded me to say, "I love you," more
To hug my children more
To try to forgive and relinquish grievances
To live as my authentic self
To speak my truth
To honor my own boundaries
To take stock of what is good
To "live life on life's terms" and know that my higher power will have my back
To be gentle with myself when I don't live up to my own standards
To appreciate my health
To sit heavily in the present moment and appreciate all that is good instead of being busy for busy's sake
To be able to shift energy from a grinding list of To-dos to what I am able to do in this moment, place, or circumstance
It is so easy to fall into a deep despair
There are so many reasons to feel hopeless
But there are many more reasons to have hope and even to rejoice
The world, life, the Universe has shaken us all up
I choose to take it as a clarion call
I will water the seedlings of positivity and remove the weeds of fear growing in my inner garden
Through this effort, I will keep my feet and continue moving through life with gratitude and deep love
-gws
I was tasked to write out my feelings regarding someone who was one of the biggest adversarial people in my whole life. The exercise designed to help me relinquish and release my long held rage and resentment. I wrote seven and a half pages. I ran out of words. But I didn't run out of rage.
I have carried molten, violent, unfulfilled rage toward this person for at least a decade. This person is dead, and yet I still hold a belly full of rage. Raw, ragged, bitter, acidic rage.
It consumes such resources with its existence. I have carried this wicked ember for so long that despite the fact that it no longer serves a purpose, I don't know how to release it or extinguish it. It is a companion I have grown too used to despite despising that it exists at all. I also cannot help but wonder how life will feel without the burn I've become so used to.
I feel it sitting like a silent scream, desperate to wrack my body in ragged convulsions of hot tears and roaring sobs. I feel that if I were to relinquish my hold on it, the rage would wring me dry, and maybe consume me outright. It feels like once the bottle is uncorked and the demon released, its force, alone, will use me up in a blinding, all-encompassing, soul-fire blaze.
Will I survive it? What will be left of me? What lies beneath it? What will take the place it leaves empty and desolate? Will I be the same when it's done with me?
gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 