Finding Peace

Over the past few days, maybe into the past week, I have noticed a sense of peace that washes over me at times that I haven't felt since........well, since ever.  I've never had this kind of peace before.  Believe me, things are not perfect.  There are bills to be paid, court dates to worry about, work to be done, but all-in-all, I am very at peace with my life right now. 

When I look back at what I've done differently over the past few weeks, I can recognize a couple of things.  The first is that I have made a huge effort to change my way of thinking.  That is, to start thinking more positively about things.  When I feel a fear or anxiety rear its ugly head - which seems to happen mostly in the car or shower for some reason - I am practicing to retrain my brain to think positive thoughts about what I know or want in life.  I really think this is helping.

I also had a huge a-ha moment last week when I realized that I did not have to act on my emotions or let my feelings rule my actions.  I think alcoholics have a huge issue with this, and  I've been hearing things along these lines for the past year, but for some reason it just clicked for me last week.  Maybe I had to become emotionally fit enough for this to click, but I am so grateful that if finally did.  This realization has made a huge difference in how I handle every day annoyances and irritants. 

So, today I am grateful for peace and the freedom that it has given me to enjoy all of the wonderful things in my life.