Melody Beattie

I used to be afraid of pain, didn't take a lot of risks, especially in love. I'm not as afraid anymore. I'm more spontaneous, more likely to say what I think.

We can trust ourselves to know when our boundaries are being violated.

Much of the time, the things we feel guilty about are not our issues. Another person behaves inappropriately or in some way violates our boundaries. We challenge the behavior, and the person gets angry and defensive. Then we feel guilty.

Relationships are where we take our recovery on the road.

In martial arts, every time you graduate, move to another level, you don't forget everything you've done. You build on it, but it's always there.

What do you do when life blindfolds you and spins you around? We think it's our fault, that we're to blame, when really we should be focused on being gentle with ourselves.