The Language of Letting Go

This is a fantastic book by Melody Beattie (CoDependent No More) written as a daily meditation & reflection journal. I'm going to work more closely with it this year. Last year I started it in Sept and used it sporadically. I will hereby refer to it as TLOLG & will post about any entry that strikes me as helpful. Today's, of course, is about the new year.

From the book:
Make New Years goals. Dig within and discover what you would like to have happen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an affirmation that you're interested in fully living life in the year to come. Goals give us direction. They put a powerful force into play on a universal, conscious and subconscious level. Goals give our life direction. We aren't controlling others with our goals - we are trying to give direction to our life.

Here are the questions asked in the book and I'm going to attempt to give each one some thought, even though I've already done my New years goals. I feel like some of these questions ask kindof the same things so I'm just going to answer them as I interpret them.

What would you like to have happen in your life this year?
*I would like to stop feeling the stress induced pains and ailments I'm plagued with nearly every day from migraines to chest pain and stiff joints. I don't understand why they continue even when I feel relaxed.

What would you like to accomplish?
*I want to recover from my addiction.
*I'd like to pay off my credit card
*I'd like to find a babysitter for DD

What good would you like to attract into your life?
*Somehow I can only interpret this question as relating to other people in my world. So..I'd love to make a new friend or two. And I'd like to be ready to begin a new romantic relationship.

What areas of growth would you like to have happen to you?
*I'd like to be able to process my parent issues. With my father, I'd like to grieve the death of my expectations for him and let them go. With my mother, I'd like to become comfortably established in my new "dance" with her.
*I'd like to be able to take care of my own needs in all situations without guilt and without having to think it through and rationalize it to death.

What character defects would you like to have removed?
Addiction, people-pleasing, guilt

What would you like to attain?
PEACE!! Peace with myself....the ability to relax as a human being as opposed to feeling the need to constantly function as a "human doing".

Where would you like to go?
I plan to return to my regular vacation spot in NH and don't have a desire to really go anywhere else.

What would you like to have happen in friendship and love?
I kindof answered this one already. I'd really like to meet a new man and establish a healthy relationship in 2008.

What would you like to have happen in your family life?
I'd like to survive age 3 with my DD!

What problems would you like to solve?
The only thing I can think of here are my health issues. I have a few problems there that will be solved/reversed when I control my addiction.

What decisions would you like to make?
*I would like to decide on a school for my DD to attend. It's still 1 1/2 years away but I'm considering private school which requires advance application.

What would you like to happen in your career?
I'm definitely going to make it a priority to get caught up and stay that way. Unfortunately that means spending less time online doing personal things.....like I'm doing now as I write this. But I've really allowed myself to get behind and disorganized. It's not a feeling I enjoy and I'm not 100% proud of the job I've been doing. And I need to stop coming in late.

What would you like to see happen around you?
I don't think I really understand this question. But I'd sure like to see my neighbors be more friendly....does that count as something around me?

Write it all down as an affirmation of you, your life and your ability to choose. Then let it go. The new year stands before us like a chapter in a book waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting our goals.