Recovery Meditations ~ Resentment ~ One Day at a Time ~ January 11, 2011

~ RESENTMENT ~
:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:

"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. Anger will never disappear so
long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind."
Buddha
:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:. .:~*~:

It was not until I came into the program

that I learned that resentment is just

another name for anger. There are some

areas in which letting go of resentment

is not so easy, especially when dealing

with hurtful words. Word wounds have a

tendency to fester. The program shows me

how to approach someone and make amends

to them for saying something

hurtful. That can be extremely

healing. Unfortunately, there is no step

in the program which makes provisions

for others to make amends to me when my

feelings are hurt.

I have learned something that has

helped: telling others how I feel when

my feelings are hurt. Instead of

internalizing my feelings, I am

beginning to speak up and ask, "Why did

you say that? I felt hurt when you said

that."

Doing this releases the negativity and

turns it into a positive action for

me. Rather than just reacting to a bad

situation, I am taking positive

action. When I begin to take positive

action, I find myself surrounded with

positive influences and I am letting go

of those friendships which are

unhealthy.

ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .

I will take positive action and surround myself with positive influences.