Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024
Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
In that case, what is the question?
-- Gertrude Stein
Sometimes, we're thrown off balance by another person's questions -- or by the confidence of his or her assumptions. Our certainties may be shattered when the way we see our identity, circumstances, or commitments seems to be called into question.
We don't have to come up with an answer simply because we have been questioned. Instead of rushing to defend ourselves when we feel put on the spot, we can take a deep breath and stop to consider what it is about ideas and beliefs different from our own that challenges us. We have choices about how to respond.
Some circumstances require that we simply state our own truth, others that we protect ourselves from an invasion of our boundaries, and still others that we keep an open mind and consider broadening our point of view. We can take time to decide which response is appropriate.
Today, I don't react; I respond from my understanding of the truth.
Hazelden Foundation
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