One of the greatest gifts of 12 step recovery is learning to parent our own children and ourselves with new skills. As we develop the emotional capacity to feel and hold our emotions within, we are able then to choose how to respond to any given situation. We are able to have kindness and respect when our children are angry or sad, teaching them to honor these emotions, letting them be informative but not acting them out without purpose or clear intention. In developing emotional intelligence, we create choices for ourselves. We use our energy as power and direct it to accomplish what we desire, honoring our own values along the way.

Re-parenting ourselves comes in recovery as well. We become nurturing, aware, respectful, compassion women and men and we give this attention to ourselves. We learn to set boundaries around our own behavior internally and externally to protect and empower ourselves in relationships with other.

There is grief that often surfaces to be released about the ways in which we did not receive as children what we needed and wanted. While we can consciously let this go, we can consciously choose self-loving behaviors as adults. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

Blessings,

Sally