Ann

The very best kind

You have worth and unique value. You are more than enough.

The world may seem to discredit you, or even oppose you, for one reason or another. Yet you have value that goes far beyond the superficial considerations of the world.

Fulfillment doesn’t come from trying to become someone you’re not. It comes from expressing, in each moment, the unique and genuine person you truly are.

The success that matters is the success you achieve at making your own special contribution to life. The success that matters is the success of expressing your own unique value.

There are things you are able to see that no one else can see, things you are able to do that no one else can do. True success comes from seeing those things and doing those things, with an attitude of gratitude and generosity.

Rather than struggling to fit yourself into someone else’s idea of success, define success for yourself, based on who you are. For that is, by far, the very best kind.

— Ralph Marston

Ann

It seems that most of my life I just wanted to be "normal" and like everyone else. My father died when I was very young and at a time when most kids I knew had 2 parents (how things have changed).

I wanted to be accepted in school and when I graduated and went to work, I fought for my career in a world where women didn't hold "responsible" jobs. (how things have changed).

When I struggled with my sons addiction, I knew I wasn't "normal", my home was neither normal nor healthy.

I was a one-lady freak show and very unsettled with it all.

My meetings and recovery helped me get to know "that stranger called me" and more than that, I became proud of the person I had become. The one person who, more than anyone else, put me down most of my life...was ME.

Today I embrace my life even though it may not be the life I once dreamed it would be...but the good news is that for all my losses along the way, I have gained courage and strength and confidence to be the person I am and stand proudly for what I believe and who I am.

Life didn't change, my family and friends didn't change...I changed. And that has made all the difference.

Hugs

Vale

Thanks, Ann.

chicory

Thanks Ann, for this posting. I love Marsden

funny how life can distract one from getting to know one's true self.

thank you for sharing too. You did face some challenges as that little girl, and then along the way as a grown lady. You have a big heart.

Ann

Thanks Chic, my mother brought lots of love to my home and taught me about gratitude. She was a dear lady who had faced her own obstacles in life and yet bravely went forward with courage in her heart and a smile on her face. I think that as much as my recovery support helped me, my mother's lessons also saw me through many hard times.

We don't have to "qualify" for happiness, we each hold our own key and just need to know how to find it.

Hugs