Carlotta

So many of us come to Al-Anon feeling that we’ve gotten a raw deal from life. “It isn’t fair!” we complain. “Don’t I deserve better after all I’ve been through?” The prayer quoted in our “Just for Today” pamphlet may shed some light on this subject when it says, “Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; . . . to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive . . .” Instead of questioning what life is giving us, perhaps we might profit more by asking what we ourselves can give. By reaching out to help others in a healthy way, we move beyond our problems and learn to give unconditionally. Every moment can be an opportunity to serve, an opportunity to change our lives. Al-Anon offers us many good places to start—setting up chairs, welcoming newcomers, leading a meeting. When we discover that we really can make a positive contribution, many of us find that self-esteem has replaced self-pity.

Carlotta

The prayer of St Francis is mentioned in today's reading and I just wanted to post it in its entirety. I just love that one


Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.