Today's Gift for Families - March 2014

[MajestyJo]

Thursday, March 13, 2014

You are reading from the book Today's Gift

I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was the ugly duckling.

—Hans Christian Andersen

The ugly duckling was not really ugly at all, he was just different. The other ducks teased and pecked and even bit him until the ugly duckling flew away. He wandered around for a year, and was treated as an outcast everywhere. In the spring, he saw a group of swans on a lake, and wanted very much to join them. As he swam out toward them, he was astounded to notice his reflection in the water--he was a swan! The other swans welcomed him warmly, and found him to be beautiful.

Most of us go through times when we feel different from those around us. These are painful and lonely times, but it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with us. Like the ugly duckling, we will come into a time when we will be loved. All the pain and loneliness we have felt will help us fully appreciate the acceptance when we find it.

How can I treasure the ways I am different from others today?

Was told to look at what I had rather than what I didn't have. Look at where I had been and see how far I had come. We all go through, and for many years, I was the martyr, the victim, and the scapegoat, and the caretaker. It was always about others, never about me. In today, it is about my recovery, without it, I don't have me.

Each of us had our own trauma, and maybe the same issues, but my feelings are mine and theirs are theirs, and whether we react or act the same is neither here nor there, it is about bringing it all to light and allowing it to heal.