A Survival Manual for Growing and Changing Persons

Oh' that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil (Wilkerson, 2000). "Our vitality does not go first - our interest goes. Dreams, one by one, that we let slip through our fingers, cannot be sustained and they drift. When that happens, what else is there? Like rare pieces of old delicate lace, we fold away our dreams in tissue and forget them. Without realizing it, we have put away our vitality as well. Vitality - life, strength, creativity. Priceless interest must be restored if we are to be strong and healthy and able to contribute to our own benefit as well as others. All living creatures and all plants are a benefit to something (CFOD, 2002). In our change and growth. We find it essential to accept reality. Once we can do this, we do not find it necessary to use problems or issues in an attempt to change our perceptions. Problems and issues used to buffer us from the full force of life. When we stop using problems and issues and enter growth and change, we find ourselves confronted directly with life. We may experience disappointment, frustration, or anger. Events may not happen the way we want them to. The self-centeredness we cultivated in our problem focus has distorted our perceptions of life; it is difficult to let go of our expectations and accept life as it is. We learn to accept our lives by working through our problems and issues. We discover how to change our attitudes and let go of character defects. We no longer need to distort the truth or to run from situations. The more we practice growth and change including spiritual principles, the easier it becomes to accept life exactly as it comes to us (adapted from JFT, 2007). "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and, the wisdom to know the difference (A.A., 2013)."