Detaching Without Anger.

Before Al-Anon, the only way I knew how to detach, was with sufficient anger to keep me motivated to withdraw.

With  years of program behind me, I can recognise, accept, let go, and detach, all without any anger at all. Some times, many times, what I'm feeling is wonder, at my own inability to see a situation with clarity, even when I've experienced it's like, many times in my own past.

Denial is like that, though - once I stop denying and begin to accept the reality of a situation, I can  be stymied and baffled by my own ability (and willingness) to ignore red flags, ignore my own body sending up signals which indicate my discomfort, ignore the evidence of my own eyes, because I don't want it to be that way. I want it to be this way, instead. I'd like to rewrite reality, please.

When I heard in Al-Anon that I had a part to play in every situation in which I was personally involved, I fought the idea tooth and nail. I wanted to blame the alcoholic for everything, I didn't want to believe that I had any responsibility, and was completely resistant to the idea that anything I was doing, or had done, had contributed to my misery.

In Al-Anon, I have learned that if I'm there in the room, I have a role, and although it may be a small one, it's got my name on it.