Soulshine

  There are people who honestly love us for who we are; for the beauty they see in our souls. That's the truth. They have no secret agenda. The only thing they may want from us is to be loved and respected for the beauty of their own souls, too. When we won't allow these people to honestly love us, eventually they walk away. Not because they've stopped loving us. They do love us. But because they can no longer face the pain of our rejection of ourselves, of them and of their freely given love for us. They have finally realized that they can't get through the stone wall we've erected around ourselves. And that it's impossible to knock down that wall. No amount of their love can do it. Only we can knock down that wall by finally accepting the fact that we are indeed loveable and worthy of their love. So with heavy hearts, people walk away from us. They are exhausted and they are hurting inside themselves. They feel disrespected and rejected because we

    I am directing my "Shame and the Addictive Trap" retreat again this weekend  and have decided to repost this meditation. It's worth the read.    Learning to love ourselves by facing our feelings, embracing them and accepting them is a major step toward healthy living. Once we take that step, we will find that it is only the first of many necessary changes we will be making in our lives. These changes will all bring about positive results, but none of these changes will be easy.      One of the most difficult changes we will need to make will involve our relationships with others. Like Gwen (Sandra Bullock) in the film  28 Days , we will find that some of our old friends and lovers are toxic for us. After Gwen left treatment, there was little doubt that she’d have to let go of her old lifestyle and all of those who are still living addictively if she wanted to remain sober.      Gwen does what she has to do concerning Jasper, her fiancé. She walks away from th