Al-Anon Slogan Meditations

Most of us would probably agree that stress levels, dysfunctional behavior and the need for mental health help is escalating in our busy world. You've heard the slogan, 'half of the US is on anti-depressants and the other half should be'. perhaps? This is an indictment more of the insecure structure of the world in which we live than in our failing abilities as humans. So words like 'coping' 'stress-relievers' , a plethora of acronyms like ADD, ADHD, OCD, PMS, IBS and a multitude of other lifestyle diseases and nervous conditions pepper our vocabulary.

There are treatment, drugs, therapies available; most are expensive and all of them require that you practice some form of self-help techniques. And that is appropriate. If I wait for someone else to make me well, it isn't going to happen. Even if I am a praying person, I have to take some initiative. So why not begin the self-help techniques now. One of the best programs that I have found and used is the 12 Step principles of AA and Al-Anon. The whole premise of AA is to 'work your own program'. Many of us have suffered at the hands of others. But if we wait for someone else to 'get help' or 'make it right', it probably will never happen and worse yet, we miss precious chances to work at healing our own thinking and behavior. No one else has the power to make us whole, except we ourselves.