*September 5th*

I went to the parent team meeting, as many other kids do, with an overwhelming desire to not do anything I was told to do! In the parent team meetings I was not allowed to speak unless first asked to do so by an adult. I did not think it was fair! I was like a river dammed up not allowed to flow freely!!! Still, I must admit to myself, all my "talking" has never yet done me any good. I have "talked, talked and talked, and yet there remains an emptiness and dissatisfaction inside me.

Then one day I realized why this was. When I talk all the time, nothing new is being added to me. I am using the same old destructive thought material that has kept me at a standstill for so long.

To absorb new ideas, I now spend more time keeping my lips closed and my ears open. I spend more of my time listening, as well as listening to audio assignments and watching videos that are recommended to me for assignments. I find all this gives me new perspectives on my problems, so that solutions come more easily.

Today's Reminder
The meetings I attend, and the assignments given to me, are a wellspring of helpful thoughts; if I don't listen to them, I will not receive the benefits that could greatly help me. Constant talking could keep me from receiving what can help me for the rest of my life.

"I pray to me reminded that the counseling and group meetings I attend can provide important gifts for me. I can receive them only by holding my peace and letting others talk. Then I might learn more, and find that my parents, the group leader, and other adults in the meetings actually care about me very much, and want what is best for me."

[Taken and fashioned from "One Day At A Time With Al-Anon"
for general family relationships by Jim Hogue, MA, MFTI (2-10]