Meditations Written at CSC
A Rain of Tears to Wash the Soul Afresh

We have all known sadness; some of us know depression even better. Our disease
makes us see the world and other people in a distorted fashion. We think what
we see is real and act on it. The results make us think everyone else is crazy so we
try to make them conform to our way of doing things. We try to control them.
When we acknowledge our Higher Power and give up trying to control everything
and everyone, we experience all our tears as a rain, which washes away the
sadness. We are protected by a Higher Power who loves us and takes our best
interest to heart. As we walk the road to recovery, as we work the Twelve Steps
and learn to live the Twelve Traditions, we become more balanced and more in
harmony with others and the universe. Sadness, washed away by a rain of tears,
makes happiness the more sweet.

Sing for Joy

A hymn of praise, an ode of thanksgiving, what matter the words when you raise
your heart to sing to your Higher Power? The spirit flies until even words have no
meaning. Recovery gives us wings to soar above our circumstances. The more we
work our program, the easier it is to rise above the worries of daily life to the
certainty that our Higher Power has everything in control and is working things
out for our highest good. Many people go through life without even thinking of
examining their way of living. We who are codependent are blessed to have had
to rethink how we react to people and events. We have learned better ways to
interact with our family, friends and others. Each day brings challenges, to which
we react in ways which bring us a wide range of emotions. When we work our
program, we are working our way to contentment and joy.

Rainy Day Friends

When we have problems, we can keep them inside and bask in being victims, or
we can reach out to others. Our Fellowship provides us with new family members
of the heart to add to the original set. We cannot deal with our problems in
isolation. It is only by bringing our pain out of the darkness of our heart into the
light of day that we can share with trusted friends (new family members). Those
people can tell us our problems aren’t as bad as they seem, and they do have
solutions or ways they can be improved. Setting and reinforcing boundaries helps
in a lot of situations. Rainy day friends love us even when we’re miserable and
miserable to be with. Someday, with their example of sharing experience,
strength and hope, we can be there for someone else.

Green Eyes

No matter how deep the darkness of night, the light of morning ends the
darkness. CoDA does much the same in our lives. It identifies our problems for us
intellectually, thus lightening the darkness. Once we understand the recovery
program with our hearts, practicing the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions daily,
we begin to see more light. Our Higher Power removes our defects of character
one by one, and we see progressively more light. It diminishes our joy when we
recognize the disease in our loved ones, but we have become so fond of the light
of recovery that we stay on our path. Sometimes our loved ones change because
we have. That enhances our recovery, too. Either way, our Higher Power brings us
into the light of healthy recovery.

Marcie L – 2000