An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

Things that are hard: Remembering to find joy when you’re feeling afraid. Trusting, trusting when the world doesn’t feel so trustworthy. Watching your kids struggle and having to stand back and let it happen. Not rescuing when it would be so easy to rescue. Ignoring the feeling in my stomach that something isn’t right. Remembering to work my program when I so want to do something else. Things that are easy: Loving. Today, not much else.

Patterns in our lives can be destructive and so very hard to recognize. I'm reading Codependency No More by Melody Beattie and have seen myself in the book over and over again. The Karpman drama triangle in Chapter 8 is standing out at the moment. This chapter deals with rescue and care-taking. We rescue because we don't feel good about ourselves.  We rescue because it is easier to do so than to deal with the feelings we are feeling when someone we care about is suffering or in need. We rescue because it makes us feel better about ourselves or feel more in control of an uncomfortable situation. We rescue whether we are asked or not....whether the rescued are completely able to care for themselves. Rescuing or "care-taking" breeds anger when the rescued let us down or rejects us or our advice. We get angry at the rejection and attack. Afterwards, we become the victim, pointing out all that we have done for them. Seeing the pattern is the only way to mo...