Hi Anita. I hope you are doing well today. Thank you for making me feel better about not telling my mother. I’ve been stuck on that regret for a long time. I can’t go back and change it, so its better to let it go and move on. I was reading one of your other responses where you went into much detail about your abusive mother and that your father left when you were young. I can’t imagine how painful that must have been for a young girl. I feel bad that I’ve been talking about how loving my parents were when you never got to experience that. I apologize if I made you feel worse.

I was rereading some of the early parts of the book to gain a better understanding of mindfulness. At first I thought it was just becoming more aware of the moment, but now I understand it is accepting whatever I’m feeling whether its good or bad. Its not accepting the joyful moments but pushing away the painful ones. Its accepting the negative emotions just as much as I would the positive ones. Am I right? He also states that in time you can do more than accept; you can actually embrace. That one is going to take some work. Do you practice meditation at all? I have yet to try it but I’m determined to give a fair chance. I also want to start journaling. I’ve heard that by writing it out helps a great deal. Please post again soon.

Jim