I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world because I've found a second family, and I am a very real part of it. In my new family, I am accepted just as I am. I never have to pretend, or wear a mask over my feelings. I can speak freely and know that my words won't leave the room.
In my new family, people empathize when I share my troubles. But instead of trying to solve my problems for me, they allow me the dignity to do so on my own. They offer their experience, strength, and hope, and in this sharing I often hear just what I need to help me with a troublesome situation.
In my new family, love is not a point system. I don't have to earn love from others - it's freely given as a gift. I don't have to earn my place in the sun, I can just relax and be myself.
Today's Reminder
When a loved one's alcoholism brought me to Al-Anon, I found a new, second family, a family that helped me discover the me that had been hidden for so long, a family that will always be there for me. Today I will enjoy having a place where I really belong.
"For me, alcoholism has proven to be a bittersweet legacy - bitter, because of the pain I suffered, and sweet, because if it weren't for that pain, I wouldn't have searched for and found a better way of living."
~Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism