Browsing all posts in Remembering the Bad Old Days.

Thoughts on Not Reliving Your Past

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." – Maya Angelou, Pulitzer Prize nominated poet, author, historian, actress, playwright, political activist (born 1928) We’ve heard the advice often enough to stop reliving our past, but it doesn’t seem to penetrate our consciousness at times, does [...]

The Past as a Beginning

"The past is but the beginning of a beginning." – H.G. Wells, English author, best-known for his work in the science fiction genre, including such novels as The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau (1866-1946) Now here’s a novel way of looking at the past [...]

Healing and Health

"The wish for healing has ever been the half of health." – Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and humorist (ca. 4 B.C.-65 A.D.) One thing most of us in recovery know, especially if we’ve overcome significant physical and psychological challenges, is that health doesn’t always come easily. Those of us who have spent many [...]

Little-Known Secret to Finding Happiness

"Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." – William James, often called the father of American psychology, best-known for pragmatism, functionalism and the James-Lange theory of emotion (1842-1910) How many times do we find ourselves saying that we just want to be happy? Or that we’d do anything to [...]

There Is No Cure for the Past

"The past cannot be cured." – Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the Virgin Queen, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth reigned as Queen of England from 1558-1603 (1533-1603) Wouldn’t we love to wipe out the past, start over with a clean slate, leaving no record of the trail of misery and [...]