Gratitude is the Path to Happiness in Every Moment

This quote is so true. All of my life I’ve struggled because I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it NOW. I never really appreciated what I did have, and so I always wanted more. And I wanted things to be my way— or else. There was no alternative. If I really wanted something, from a new sleek figure to a new stereo to a lifetime lover, I had to have it. No was not an option and neither was happiness— until I got what I wanted.

Recovery’s first lesson to me was Step One: I am powerless over (fill in anything here) and my life has become unmanageable. And the Serenity Prayer continued to build on the lesson: God grant me serenity to ACCEPT the things I cannot change.

For the first time in my life I realized that I wasn’t solely in charge. God, or my Higher Power, was in control and so I needed to relinquish my insistence on being in control by admitting I was truly powerless over much of life— and over every other person.

Thanks to my Recovery work (therapy, spiritual self-help reading, support group meetings), I am less of a control freak and much more grateful for all that I do have. Sometimes, especially at Disneyland, I give into the wants of my inner-child and buy things that the little Charlie inside me wants. But I’ve learned the best blessings are in the love and spiritual connections I make in the present moment with friends, family and everyone I meet on my path of new found in-the-moment happiness.

The struggle is over.