~I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being~ Oscar Wilde
**Names have been changed**
For the next few months, I'll be attending a new group at the River Ridge Treatment Center's Minnetonka location. The program is a couple nights a week for a few hours. The counselors leading the group are Paula, a kind woman who greeted me when I sat down, Sara, an insightful, straight-forward woman and Audrey, a beautiful, articulate young woman. There were about 10 clients in the room including my old housemate Liz. It was so great to see her and joke around. It was timely that we talked again about establishing healthy boundaries with people and teaching others how to treat us.
Alcohol and drugs allowed me to maintain a connection to my parents all these years. I painfully realized for myself a few weeks into inpatient treatment that my parents were triggers. I thought back to all the times that I used while calling or visiting them. Using chemicals allowed me to let go of the past and suppress my negative feelings for my mother and father. I was able to have an adult/adult relationship with them which was more positive and enjoyable than the adult/child relationship that they abused.
They provided a handout called Who's in your front row?
My mother, father, sister, brother and sister-in-law have chosen not to be in the theatre, so I don't even have a choice. Even though it's painful, I am grateful for our time together. I wish them peace. They may not want to see me again in this lifetime, but I believe our spirits last forever. Perhaps, as spirits, we'll able to interact on a higher plane and speak to one another with love. That is my hope.
**Names have been changed**
For the next few months, I'll be attending a new group at the River Ridge Treatment Center's Minnetonka location. The program is a couple nights a week for a few hours. The counselors leading the group are Paula, a kind woman who greeted me when I sat down, Sara, an insightful, straight-forward woman and Audrey, a beautiful, articulate young woman. There were about 10 clients in the room including my old housemate Liz. It was so great to see her and joke around. It was timely that we talked again about establishing healthy boundaries with people and teaching others how to treat us.
Alcohol and drugs allowed me to maintain a connection to my parents all these years. I painfully realized for myself a few weeks into inpatient treatment that my parents were triggers. I thought back to all the times that I used while calling or visiting them. Using chemicals allowed me to let go of the past and suppress my negative feelings for my mother and father. I was able to have an adult/adult relationship with them which was more positive and enjoyable than the adult/child relationship that they abused.
They provided a handout called Who's in your front row?
Life is too short to permit anyone or anything to bring negativity to your life. Re-evaluate your life and decide who you will permit to sit in your front row.
Just a little something to think about....
Life is a theater...Invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives.
There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a DISTANCE. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not going anywhere relationships or friendships. Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention.
Which ones lift and which ones lean?
Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?
Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?
When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse?
Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know or appreciate you?
The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.
Remember that the people we hang with will have an impact on both our lives and our income. So we must be careful to choose the people we hang out with, as well as the information with which we feed our minds.
We should not share our dreams with negative people, nor feed them with negative thoughts.
So, Who's in your front row?
My mother, father, sister, brother and sister-in-law have chosen not to be in the theatre, so I don't even have a choice. Even though it's painful, I am grateful for our time together. I wish them peace. They may not want to see me again in this lifetime, but I believe our spirits last forever. Perhaps, as spirits, we'll able to interact on a higher plane and speak to one another with love. That is my hope.
1 comment:
"The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life."
As much as it hurts, you will SURVIVE!
The truth hurts and abusers never like to hear the truth or face it for that matter!
Wow Cindy You are inspirational! Forgive and forget, Forgive and forget. I tell myself everyday
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