Gordon Lightfoot "Sundown" (extended)

I enjoyed this song so much, when I was a student at geology field camp in Montana, years ago. In posting this song, I picked an extended version that I stumbled upon, on the grounds that it was common for another student to replay the song soon after it had just stopped playing. Back in our Pleistocene mapping epoch, in the evenings we would make pink-pricks in topo maps and transfer strike and dip symbols from one piece of paper to another - and our minds remained partly free to hear pretty music and be happy.

Jim Croce "Operator"

I heard this Jim Croce song being played in Trader Joe's on Valentine's day. I instantly became happier upon hearing it! I felt transported back to 1983 and 1984, when the music of Jim Croce brought me so much happiness and fun. I sang along with the song, a little bit - as much as I dared - as I shopped. I felt as if I were "all smiles". Since that still-recent day, the song has came back to me in the middle of the night and during the day, reinfecting my brain in the nicest way.

Promise Five (from daily ACA email)

"As we face our abandonment issues, we will be attracted by strengths and become more tolerant of weaknesses."

In our program, we need a lot of courage to face a great many things. Facing how we were abandoned requires us to summon all the courage we can muster. As we "keep coming back," memories and feelings float up from our subconscious to the mind's eye, and we acknowledge the losses we buried.

As children, many of us wanted or needed to idealize our caregivers. In ACA, we take off the rose-colored glasses and see them as flawed human beings who were unable to be there for us emotionally, physically, psychologically, or spiritually. Facing this abandonment means looking at it honestly with the help of our Higher Power, our inner loving parent, and our Inner Child. This is how we begin to reparent ourselves so that we can become whole.

On this day I continue to seek the courage to face my abandonment issues, resolving to take the steps to make myself whole, so I can bond with others from this consciousness centered space.

Dreams (from daily ACA email)

"We thought we had forgotten these dreams, but our Inner Child remembers."

As children we had an innocent wish to be heard, held, and protected. But in most of our homes, that didn't happen. When we spoke, it was usually the beginning of trouble. When we tried to cuddle or show affection, we were ignored, laughed at, or flirted with. Most of the time we were alone. The idea of being protected was nonexistent.

We grew up in a world where the norm was "anything goes, anytime." It was almost impossible to keep up with what was going on, but we did our best. We fantasized about having a different family where we could be ourselves and it would be okay. We wished for a place overflowing with love, a safe place where voices were soft and sweet, and where everyone just talked, laughed, and played together. It is so sad that we didn't get that. We deserved a bright and happy childhood, didn't we?

Our Inner Child is still waiting for this dream to be made real. This desire is still as strong as it was long ago. Who is going to be the person to bring this dream to this child?

We find that dreams can come true. Here, we are able to begin again, one day at a time. We can give our Inner Child all that we weren't given. Recovering dreams is what this program is all about.

On this day I know that I deserve my dreams. I am willing to work to make them come true.