Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul Daily Inspirations (Chicken Soup for the Soul) (28 page)

Pamela Knight

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Unknown

Footnotes for Life

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UNE
29

A
s I gain an understanding about food and it no longer controls me, a sense of power arises. I replace eating for other non-injurious pleasures: new activities, new friendships, rediscovering creativity.

My ability to distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger grows and this growth makes it less possible to fool myself that filling up my stomach fills up my heart.

Donna LeBlanc

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Vernon Law

Footnotes for Life

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UNE
30

B
ehind the giggles, eight-year-old Amanda struggled with her mother’s steady descent into the abyss of alcoholism. Although they were separated, Amanda’s dad respected the deep bond she had for her mother. He encouraged Amanda to understand and cope with the family’s circumstances. She quickly learned she was not alone, that millions of other kids love parents challenged by alcoholism and other drug addiction. She was relieved to know she didn’t make her mother drink and more importantly, couldn’t make her stop. With Dad’s loving act and his extraordinary commitment he gave his little girl the gift he himself had been denied as a child–a safe place to grow, learn and heal.

Jerry Moe

If they drop the atom bomb, if I want to have a chance at survival, I want to be with a bunch of ACoAs.

Cathleen Brooks

Footnotes for Life

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ULY
1

W
hen we call something by its right name, we have stopped pretending. We are facing the truth, refusing to dress up what we see. It is then that life is put in perspective, and we begin to understand.

Only after we call things by their right names do we have the privilege of renaming them.

Barbara A. Croce

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.

Traditional Chinese Proverb

Footnotes for Life

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ULY
2

M
ay all your days be blessed with someone who cares for you, accepts you and your flaws, who will watch over you and protect you. Someone who will encourage you to believe in life and in your wishes and dreams, who will give you strength and guidance and care for you throughout eternity.

Stacey Chillemi

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

Carl Rogers

Footnotes for Life

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ULY
3

A
s you do, so you become. Every action that you perform is recording in you, the soul. These imprints ultimately mold your character and destiny. When you understand this principle, you will pay more attention to bringing your best to everything you do. React less; respond more. As you learn to tell yourmind what to do, old ways of thinking and doing will change.

Brahma Kumaris
World Spiritual University

Whenever life throws you a curve ball, remember this is all just a game.

Brahma Kumaris

Footnotes for Life

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ULY
4

W
hispers solve a lot of problems. You can’t argue in a whisper. You have to listen carefully to hear a whisper. “Whispers” in the night make everything right. What seemed so gigantic in the brightness of the day loses its significance in the security of a whisper. How do I know? In fifty-seven years of marriage, my husband’s whispers in the wee hours of the morning have brought a lifetime of “I love you’s.” Love lies behind a whisper. Love always triumphs. Love wins over all. The next misunderstanding can end with a whisper. Whisper today. It works every time.

Joan Clayton

Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence?

Sai Baba

Footnotes for Life

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ULY
5

I
da was the cleaning lady. I was the new admission. As she worked, she asked why I was there. “I lost my wedding band and my sanity last week. I’m trying to calm down,” I explained.“You should talk to St. Anthony. He finds things when you ask,” she offered kindly. The next day she persisted, obviously serious about this saint thing. Unfamiliar with saints, prayer, even dumb luck, I wrote St. Anthony a poem. Days later while cleaning the garage my husband walked inside with shaking hands–and my ring. “It fell out of an empty six-pack container,” he said. I don’t know if St. Anthony was impressed with my poetry, but I knew Ida believed and had lent me both her belief and her favorite saint.

Carol J.Bonomo

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.