Eleven Little New Year’s Gifts

I’ve been thinking a lot about the new year.  What lies ahead is always a tantilizing adventure. A road not yet traveled brings thoughts of all the possibilities. There are so many reasons to believe, to have hope and to be grateful. Anything is possible.  And that’s a wonderful thing.

I have been reflecting upon this past year.  Sometimes I feel that with a stroke of luck so many doors have unexpectedly opened.  This may sound silly to non-bloggers, but I am grateful that this year was the beginning of my blog. How could a blog generate gratitude? Other bloggers may relate to how I feel.

• Blogging has given me a creative outlet in which I can express myself through writing.

• It is a way to serve others by providing awareness and discussion of one of the most important issues our country faces – alcohol and drug addiction.

• Through A-List Blogging Bootcamp, a door has opened to a community of experienced bloggers. Knowledge and lessons from the best have filled me with more information than I could have dreamed.

• Most importantly, I have connected with many new people from the blog, my readers first and foremost, as well as other bloggers that are interested in spreading awareness and support for addiction.

I would like to express my gratitude to Holly Knott who designed my website, Dan King who keeps me connected, and finally Kim Doyle would helped me revise my site.

We can begin anew in 2011,  continuing to make progress towards addiction awareness, research and support. My hope is that more people will find recovery and we will strengthen addiction prevention.

To start the new year, I would like to give you eleven little gifts.

The Gift of Courage

Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot.  Eleanor Roosevelt

The Gift of Detachment

The essence of the Way is detachment.  Bodhidharma

He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment. Meister Eckhart

The Gift of Expectation

I don’t have expectations. Expectations in your life just lead to giant disappointments.  Michael Landon

Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life.  Marilu Henner

The Gift of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.
Marianne Williamson

Forgiveness is the gift you give yourself.  Suzanne Sommers

Forgiveness is the final form of love.  Reinhold Niebuhr

The Gift of Faith

As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.  Emmanuel Teney

Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.  Khalil Gibran

The Gift of Gratitude

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
William Arthur Ward

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.  Brian Tracy

The Gift of Hope

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.  The important thing is not to stop questioning.  Albert Einstein

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest.  I do not judge the universe.  Dalai Lama

The Gift of Joy

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment. Tony Robbins

Your success and happiness lies in you.  Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.  Helen Keller

The Gift of Love

Love is always bestowed as a gift – freely, willingly and without expectation. We don’t love to be loved; we love to love. Leo Buscaglia

A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.  Stendhal

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.  Lao Tzu

The Gift of Recovery

As we celebrate Recovery Month, it is time for Congress to knock down the barriers to treatment and recovery for 26 million Americans suffering the ravages of alcohol and drug addiction. Jim Ramstad

The most important thing about recovery is to pass the message on. Maurice Gibb

The Gift of Patience

Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience. Ralph Waldo Emerson

My biggest weakness is patience, wanting to see things happen too quickly or get changes in place right away. Not having the patience to let things develop.  Paul Gleason

Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself.  Saint Francis de Sales

Do have other gifts we should give for 2011?  Let me know in comments.  Have a Happy New Year!

Picture from color line

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