Today's Gift for Families - April 2014

[MajestyJo]

Friday, April 18, 2014

You are reading from the book Today's Gift

Gifts are for giving.

—Ian and Sylvia Tyson

Many years ago, a young woman named Dorothy was very talented at china painting. She painted tiny scenes on china dishes, the way people today paint on wood and Easter eggs.

Then Dorothy fell in love, got married, and decided she had no time to paint. But as her children grew, they loved to stand at the china cabinet and stare at all her tiny pictures--each one seemed to hold its own special world.

Years passed and Dorothy's grandchildren also loved to stand and stare at the paintings. Everybody loved her work. They wondered why she didn't take up painting again, but she wouldn't say. Her love of painting seemed to be locked away.

When we give up some talent of our own because we don't have time for it, we lock away part of ourselves. When we imprison our talents, we limit our possibilities. But when we make self-expression a natural part of our day, others can gather around and enjoy the results. There is always room for our talents because they create worlds of their own.

Am I locking something away because I don't have the time?

For me it is bridge, I haven't played for about 3 years. First it was the medication the doctor's put me on, then it was too expensive and the spare change didn't seem to be there, yet I had 3 free coupons in my wallet. I blamed my son, because if I had spare change in my purse, he took it for 'coffee' because he thought that what is mine is his. It got so that I was hiding money, and a few times, couldn't find where I had put it.

The games the "A" plays when in active addiction, and yet by allowing it to happen, is just as much my fault as his. I sent him away from my door time and again. He would come back, take and go back out and use someone else. I know that for many years he was my addiction, I couldn't say "No!" and lived my life through him, and put my life on hold.

When he first went into detox and recovery, I stopped going to AA, NA, and CA to give him the freedom to go where he needed to be and I just went to Al-Anon. I would go to day meetings once in a while, because I can never forget where I came from. I needed to put priorities back in my life. Letting go of what is fun and necessary in my life, doesn't make it healthy, especially when done for the wrong reasons.