Episode 204 -- March 28, 2022

Meditation Monday: Make Way for Hope

Welcome to Meditation Monday. We're pausing each Monday for a few minutes of reflection and inspiration from the authors of the Hazelden Meditation series of books.

Meditations are daily reflections, prayers, slogans and phrases intended to offer inspiration and comfort, and—above all—hope to those of us in recovery.

The selections "for this" last Meditation Monday in March come from one of Hazelden's best-loved meditation authors, Dr. Karen Casey. Together, these meditations from Each Day a New Beginning and A Woman's Spirit invite us to focus on letting go of anger and replacing it with a more positive outlook.

Each Day a New Beginning

Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words.
—Joyce Brothers

Anger is familiar to us all. We feel it toward others and from others. The expression and acceptance of anger are where we often falter. Most of us were told when we were small that we shouldn't be angry, but we were. And we are, even yet. However, we often still feel like a little child when it comes to angry feelings.

We need to accept our anger and learn to express it, honestly, openly, and assertively, not aggressively. We can't afford to hang on to anger. It grows and then festers and then boils. Soon it is interfering in all our relationships, and it provides a ready excuse for an old, self-destructive pattern we don't want to entertain for even a moment.

Nothing we set out to do today will have the right outcome if we carry anger within us. How we interpret life, how we treat our friends, what we do with our opportunities and our challenges—all these are determined by our attitudes. Repressed anger always blocks the way to a positive attitude.

Every experience can uplift me if anger doesn't weigh me down.

A Woman's Spirit

Even on a rainy day, I can feel the sunshine.
Even when the clouds are gray, I can feel a glow.
There's a little light inside me, just keeps burning.
I take it with me, everywhere I go.
—Jill Clark

We carry within ourselves the single necessary ingredient for our happiness: a positive attitude. Nothing can ruin our day unless we let it. No remark can devastate us unless we let it. No unhealthy, negative attitude controls our thoughts without our assent.

Feeling good about the experiences we're having, regardless of their nature, is a decision. Trusting that some good will come out of every one of them is a habit we can form. We can acquire an attitude of hope for growth and positive change. I will see the sunshine even through the clouds if that's my choice.

Today I have twenty-four hours to practice this

About the Author:
Karen Casey's love of writing began in elementary school, but when she was completing her doctorate at the University of Minnesota, it emerged as her calling and the process that connected her to her Higher Power. Passionate about helping others in Twelve Step support groups, where her own recovery from addictions began many decades ago, Casey authored her first book, Each Day a New Beginning. A recovery classic first published in 1982, the book has sold more than 3 million copies. It was followed in 1983 by The Promise of a New Day, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies. In the years since then, she has written 27 additional books.

Each Day a New Beginning © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation
A Woman's Spirit © 1994 by Hazelden Foundation
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