The best gifts come from the heart.
The new year is upon us.
It brings anticipation for what is to come.
A road not yet traveled brings thoughts of possibility. There are many reasons to believe, have hope, and have gratitude. Anything is possible. And that’s a beautiful thing.
I have reflected upon this past year. Sometimes I feel that so many doors have unexpectedly opened with a stroke of luck. Connecting with you, my amazing readers, has been one of the greatest joys.
Your struggles have a common thread. Together as a community, I hope we can take positive steps forward. Please find the answers that you are looking for as you go on.
The many conversations I’ve had with parents this past year have been rewarding. Together we can find a way to make positive changes, find hope, and move forward to a healthier way of life.
I hope that more people will find recovery, strengthening addiction prevention.
I want to share these eleven little gifts with you to start the new year.
The Gift of Courage
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher
“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 Happiness
“The secret to happiness is to count your blessings as others are adding up their troubles.” ~ William Penn
“Each morning when I open my eyes I, say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” ~ Groucho Marx
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
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
“I’ve only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.” ~ John Green
“Forgiveness is the final form of love.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr
The Gift of Faith
“Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” ~ Khalil Gibran
“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 taking the first step even when you don’t have the whole staircase.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
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
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” ~ Desmond Tutu
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sing the tunes without the words – And never stops at all.” ~ Emily Dickinson
The Gift of Compassion
“The heart is like a garden: it can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?” ~ Jack Kornfield
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” ~ Steve Maraboli
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” ~ Brene Brown
The Gift of Joy
“It’s not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful.” ~ David Rast
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” ~ Greg Anderson
“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
“The people you will always remember are the ones who made you feel loved when you were at your lowest.” ~ Brigitte Nicole
“I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.” ~ Mitch Albom
“To my children, I’m sorry for the unhealed parts of me that in turn hurt you. It was never my lack of love for you. Only a lack of love for myself.” ~ Teresa Shanti
The Gift of Recovery
“The pain you feel today is the strength you’ll feel tomorrow.” ~ Unknown
“First, don’t be alone with your illness and your struggle. And don’t be afraid to demand the best diagnosis, the best care, the best coverage, and the best way of staying current with the medicine and the treatment.” ~ Patrick J. Kennedy
“Instead of staying ‘I’m damaged, I’m broken, I have trust issues,’ say ‘I’m healing, I’m rediscovering myself, I’m starting over.'” ~ Horatio Jones
The Gift of Patience
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. “~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If you feel like you’re losing everything remember that trees lose their leaves every year and they still stand tall and wait for better days to come.” ~ Unknown
“Meeting a child’s aggression with adult aggression only adds fuel to the fire. To extinguish aggressive behavior meet it with calmness and compassion. Being calm isn’t passive—it’s mature. Be it to teach it. ” ~ Rebecca Eanes
Thank you for reading! I wish you a wonderful New Year!
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