Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (37 page)

Erin Hagman

Do not look back in anger, or forward in fear, but around in awareness.

James Thurber

Footnotes for Life

A
UGUST
31

I
cut–any part of my body covered by clothes, although my wrists were my body part of choice. The slashes became my words, the only way I knew to express myself, a way of denying my sexual abuse. I cut not to feel. Cutting left me in a dull trance, entirely calm, numb and empty. Even in a society where so much has lost its shock value, cutting remains scandalous. It’s been three years since I last cut. Because of those who helped me peel away my layers of defenses to understand what was at the root of my fears and pain, because of them, I am finally alive.

ElizabethWalton

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.

Thomas Henry Huxley

Footnotes for Life

S
EPTEMBER
1

M
any small steps make a journey. When stuck in a dispirited state of mind, take one step to move yourself forward. Get out of bed. Walk your dog. Smile at a stranger.

No matter how insignificant that step may seem, your action will create a course of hope on which to proceed. As momentum soars, so will your spirit.

Vicki Graf

When there is no wind, row.

Chinese Proverb

Footnotes for Life

S
EPTEMBER
2

A
woman lives with an abusive husband. She hates her life. She is angry and unhappy. She remains with the abuser another day.

A teenager is grossly overweight and is teased by classmates. He hates his life. He is angry and unhappy. He overeats another day.

A man drinks, gets into fights and ends up in jail often. He hates his life. He is angry and unhappy. He drinks another day.

Today we must learn from our mistakes of the past and go down a different path or we will surely end up in the same place as yesterday.

Kay Conner Pliszka

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

Footnotes for Life

S
EPTEMBER
3

W
e enjoy living at the edge of town. One night while sitting in the living room we heard sounds on our front porch. My husband turned on the porch light and there stood seven little sheep all in a row, staring as if to say, “Will you please help us?” Emmitt opened the gate to the backyard and safely enclosed those cute little balls of wool until he could find the owner. Emmitt, unknowingly, became their shepherd for a while. The sheep followed him around wherever he went, displaying their trust and dependence. Without a shepherd, sheep are in danger. Without the Good Shepherd, so am I.

Joan Clayton

It is only destined by your attitude where you will end up in life. Don't let yourself get lost in the crowd.

Angela Duvall

Footnotes for Life

S
EPTEMBER
4

I
don’t want to minimize the seriousness of money dysfunction, but I use humor as a tool to help me recover from it. Humor is a valuable part of our rediscovery. To be so deadly serious about getting well is a real bummer. We can have fun looking back at the things we did trying to balance our accounts. How many of us put money into a savings account and get so excited that we’re earning 5% interest, completely overlooking the fact that we owe $10,000 on credit cards at 19.2%? I did all that. Now, I have to laugh. I am serious about my recovery, but I don’t take it or myself too seriously.

Yvonne Kaye

Money doesn’t always bring happiness. People with $10 million are no happier than people with $9 million.

Hobart Brown

Footnotes for Life

S
EPTEMBER
5

I
t’s important that when I experience problems, I remember that solutions are close at hand. Knowing this starts the flow of ideas needed to solve my problems. Changes do not just “happen.” Solutions involve drastic changes in thought and expectations. Solutions require action and when I have a positive attitude, I can tackle any issue. Today I know I am free. I can use my freedom to indulge in all kinds of negative beliefs, or I can use my freedom to discipline my mind and concentrate on finding answers to my difficulties. The decision is mine to choose my experiences.

Rokelle Lerner

Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you will not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Footnotes for Life

S
EPTEMBER
6

I
llness is a chance to teach the mind to remain independent of physical circumstances and thus to connect with our inner resources.