Karen Casey

We can't become what we can't clearly see in our mind's eye.

God can read our hearts even when we don't voice our thoughts.

, I think partly because it seems strange for us to think of abuse and neglect offering any kind of potential value in our lives. But those of us who have grown up in dysfunctional families know that this upbringing has served us with special gifts, and that

No one can change us, just as we can change no one

There is purpose to our lives, and assuredly, it's not to live trapped in problems, ours or other people's

Whining about them or complaining to friends or strangers or refusing to address them in a calm, rational way means we are choosing to live in the problems rather than moving forward on our learning curve.

look away, walk away, disengage. Peace of mind is a choice, and it can't be found if we wallow in problems. That's my perspective, at least. What's yours?

Are you taking life too seriously? What does that mean to you? Here is your opportunity to explore this more fully. This will be fun. You will be taking charge in a new way.
What's the first situation that comes to mind when you consider in retrospect that you overreacted? Did it hurt you or others?
Can you think of a time when you responded to a situation in a far quieter way and had a good outcome?
What would you consider a serious situation?
What kind of situation have you experienced that was worthy of “so what!”?
Is that, more or less, how you responded? If not, describe what you did.
What do you consider the most reasonable choices you could make to any situation?
Create a mantra for yourself that you might say before taking any action or responding to any situation.
Use this mantra for the next week, and then come back to these pages and write how it felt to take charge of your reactions in a fresh way

No one is happy when we get into minding the business of someone else.

one is happy when we get into minding the business of someone else.