I recently attended the SAMHSA conference in downtown Chicago where I had the luxury of hearing from Francine Ward talking about esteemable acts. What I appreciated most, besides her incredible ability to speak candidly about her own recovery, was her focus on action.
For people in recovery, whether that be from addictions, mental health issues or the scars of our own pasts, action is often barred by so many obstacles. Sometimes for good reason people get overwhelmed by those obstacles whether they are self-induced or external. I really enjoyed Francine's lecture because it reminded me that no matter what we are facing there is some form of action that we can take.
At one point in her lecture she made a comment that was something like this: If I'm not the problem, then I won't change. There is something very empowering about the notion of looking for ways that I may be holding myself back from whatever piece of life I am wanting to have more of. Today let's try to look at ourselves and ask honestly what small piece of action can I take.
In the meantime, I can't stop listening to French music and am finding myself wondering what kind of action I need to take to hear it in person :) Ciao- SW
