Who will I be today? The “Cosmopolitan” woman, the little girl, the scholar, the mother? Who will I be to answer the needs of others, and yet answer the needs of me? —Deidra Sarault—
We wear many hats. One aspect of our maturity is our ability to balance our roles. It’s often quite difficult to do so; however, the program offers us many tools for balancing our lives. Fulfilling some of the needs of significant others in our lives brings us joy.
Our own needs must be given priority, though. We cannot give away what we don’t have, and we have nothing unless we give sincere attention and love to ourselves.
In years gone by, we may have taken too little care of others, or we overdid it.
In either case, we probably neglected ourselves. Most of us starved ourselves spiritually, many of us emotionally, a few physically. We were all too often “all-or-nothing” women.
Today we’re aware of our choices. We’ve been making a number of good ones lately: We’re abstinent. We’re living the Steps. And we’re choosing how to spend our time, and what to do with our lives. But no choice will turn out very well if we haven’t taken care of ourselves.
I will center on myself. I will nurture the maturing woman within and then reach out.