All posts by Hugh Smith

Acceptance, Depressed Anonymous, Depressed Anonymous Workbook, Fellowship, Hope, The 12 Steps

I refuse to run from what I feel

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AFFIRMATION

I will be in touch with my feelings throughout the day. I refuse to run from what I feel.

“The ability to experience one’s feelings without resisting or running from them, determines to a large degree whether a person is healthy are not.”

CLARIFICATION OF THOUGHT

I’m going to make a real effort today to do what I see works for depressed persons like myself. They all say that the longer they are in the program (Depressed Anonymous) , the more feelings they are able to express and the less the unpleasant feelings of fear dominates their life. I am finding that by writing my feelings down, the less frightening they seem to be to me. I am now able to deal head on with my feelings.

My addiction was a way of walling off my pain. In time, I became addicted to the pain and in doing so, I lost myself in the process. I find this experience to be a freeing one.

My addiction was a way of walling off pain. Now the pain is more important than what I am running away from.

What I experience in my life determines to a large extent what I predict life to become. My past experiences are predictors of a life not as yet lived. I am wanting to experience the fact that my good days are more frequent now and my bad days occurring not as often.

MEDITATION

God, the more I give up my need to be depressed the more I’m finding that I’m becoming more assertive and truly present to others in my life. I want you to help me feel my feelings and express them today. [ADD YOUR OWN PERSONAL THOUGHTS HERE]

SOURCE: Higher Thoughts for Down Days: 365 daily thoughts and meditations for members of 12 step fellowships. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

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Question: What are worst things to say to someone who is depressed?

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  •  “But it’s all in your mind.”
  • “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”
  •   “You have so many things to be thankful for, why are  you depressed?”
  •  “You   have it so good, why aren’t you happy?”
  •  “Well at least it is not that bad..”
  •  “There are a lot of people who are worse off than you.”
  •   “Have you gotten tired yet of all this  me me  stuff?”
  •  “Everybody has a bad day now and then.”
  •  “You can do anything you want if you just set your mind to it.”
  •  “You don’t look depressed.”

HAD ENOUGH?

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  Sources: 1)Compiled by bw@cv.hp.com at http://www.execpc.com/-corbeau/worst.html

2) Dep-Anon Family Group Manual. (2002) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Page AA.

12 Step Meeting, DA Literature, Depressed Anonymous, Fellowship

“I wanna be free and live a life free from fear and anxiety!

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” Came to believe that  a power greater than  ourselves can restore us to sanity.”

Now that I’m beginning to make an effort that this higher power is really on my side the more my faith and belief will help me overcome my fear of failure that  my depression ever coming to an end.

My fears, anxieties and other obstacles to my serenity will gradually disappear the more I learn that there is somebody up there that love me and wants me to be free from that gnawing emptiness   that continually plagues me  day after day. I am beginning to see that the more I attend meetings and read   my  Depressed Anonymous Big Book, and do my daily meditations the more peace and hope I will have. I truly believe that  life will  get better for me.  My sanity and my health will increase like a seed watered, nurtured and which receives a lot of sunlight.

 

We aren’t alone anymore. In fact, we are strengthened by the bonds of fellowship and friendship in the group and not burdened by the fear that we will again soon slump back  into our depression.” The Depressed Anonymous Workbook/Step 2-Page 13.

Excerpts from  Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition.

“This new belief in a Higher Power is not the creation of any organized religion but instead is the Power that creates the universe. Our surrender and trust in it frees it to work its way in our life. That is a paradox of the 12 Steps – the more we depend on the Higher Power instead of our addictions,  the freer we in reality become.”

For the depressed person,  giving up old ways of thinking and acting is much like giving up any other addiction – at first letting go of the old behavior makes you feel  uncomfortable.  The  old behavior  wants  to  cling  to  our spirit  like swamp  mud hangs onto knee-high boots. Before your participation  in Depressed Anonymous you would go home from work, get by yourself and ruminate on how bad you felt. This new behavior will help you think differently about yourself. You will find that this higher power, or God as you understand him, is not the same God that you might have met when you were young. When you were a child you came to believe that God is watching you, ready  to punish you if you are not perfect. Now you can  begin to develop an adult and new way of being related  to God as you understand God.  With time, persistence and patience you will gradually trust your life to this Higher Power. ”

Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications.  Louisville. Page 43.

SOURCE: HOME STUDY PROGRAM. Please see Depressed Anonymous  literature  for more information.  You are able to order your own Kit online from www.depressedanon.com.

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“I WANNA BE FREE!” (3) Home Study Program/Excerpts

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We read in the Depressed Anonymous Workbook,  Step Two, which states the following   “Came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.?

                                       “I came to believe…”

In the 12 step program of Depressed Anonymous I’m learning to march to a different drummer and whistle a different tune.   In fact, the road that I am now traveling down is a road  that will gradually lead me out of the dead ends  of depression, guilt, listlessness and the old familiar atrophy of my spirit to a new vision of who I am to be  and become.

WRITE:  What is it that you want to begin to believe about yourself that is different from yourself when depressed?   Please list four ways that you are going to gradually change the negative and hopeless way you believe about yourself today.

2. 2

2. 3

2. 4

2. 5

 

Now name and list  the persons, people, places, situations, things that have exerted the greatest power over you and your life in the past. The places, persons, and situations can have a positive or negative power over you and your life.

2 6    Persons

2. 7.  Places

2. 8   Situations

2. 9  Things

Now stop and reflect upon the persons, places, situations that you either gave power over you or who had power over you. These four categories are powerful influences in the past which even today may still exert their influence over you. Try and write down how this is perceived by you today. In other words, are these persons, situations, places or things still causing your life to feel out of control and unmanageable today? If so why? And if not, why not?

2. 10  Please write out your reactions to the above statement.

NOTE: You can use your notebook to list your responses .

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Depressed Anonymous Manual

And now we turn to the other  half of the  Home Study Program.     We will look at an excerpted passage  from the Depressed Anonymous Manual,  Step Two.

”  for the most part we are able to hide how miserable we feel. We have given ourselves over to the believe that this growing feeling of helplessness is what must govern our lives, moods and behavior. We have  given it  license to run roughshod over every part of our life and over our relationships.  Most people can’t see inside us and discover the pain  that makes up our every waking moment. For the most part, we are able to hide how miserable we feel. “Depressed Anonymous, 3rd  edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Page 39.

And now, list the areas of my life where I feel helpless.

1

2.

3.

4.

 

Thank you. I hope that you found useful the information presented today.

Hugh

DA Literature, Depressed Anonymous Workbook, Fellowship

“I wanna be free!” (Part 2) HOME STUDY PROGRAM

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HOME STUDY PROGRAM

Today  we want to continue to  share more about how the Home Study Program, using  the Depressed Anonymous   Manual and the Depressed Anonymous Workbook can gradually facilitate a better understanding of the nature of depression and our response to it, using the spiritual principles of the 12 steps of Depressed Anonymous

 

The reason most people use the Home Study Program is that it is a simple and straightforward way to begin to  walk on the path that leads out of depression.

So, I admit that I’m depressed. Now what do I do? The next thing we do is to ask ourselves how much can I dare admit to myself  how out-of-control  I really am? How much do I dare tell myself that I have really hit bottom and that I have nowhere to go but to ask for help? I have been afflicted with this tendency all my life to run and hide whenever I was challenged  by a task, a relationship or  old unpleasant memories that frightened me. I would run and hide. I would be willing to barely admit to myself that what I was feeling wasn’t really me.  I also came to believe that the sea of gloom that I swam in  day after day would one day drown me – the exact day and  time just  happened to be unknown at the time.

One of the things that keeps giving me hope at the Depressed Anonymous fellowship meetings  or here on our website (Depressed Anonymous)   is where we can  continue to read about how others   have been successful  in leaving their own prison of depression.  We see a real challenge  that can open a new Vista – a new way to live out our lives and open up hope before us. One man said that the God of his understanding uses him and his depression for helping others who are likewise depressed.   In other words, God will use your depression to help others.

You will learn that you have the choice as to whether you want to stay depressed  or choose to learn the ways to get out of your depression.  In fact you will also learn that you have the opportunity to feel differently, if you so choose.

SOURCE:  The Depressed Anonymous Workbook. Page 5.

One of the most powerful experiences and benefits of being a member of the Depressed Anonymous  fellowship is at that you will learn that you have the choice as to whether you want to stay depressed or choose to learn the ways to get out of your depression. In fact you will also learn that you also have the opportunity to feel differently, if you so choose.

“We” is the first word of step one. It is a very important word to remember because it sets up  immediately sets up a group fellowship with people who are having the same difficulty. It also makes us feel that we too are not alone, but that there is someone else out there that is experiencing the same difficulty as you and me.

 

One the best part of being a member of Depressed Anonymous is that we don’t have to be alone if we don’t want to be. That might sound strange to some of us but we have to admit that what keeps us depressed is our need to keep apart from other.  To remain disconnected and isolated. We have a need to be by ourselves and to stay apart from human contact. For to be in contact with others like me is that we will have to take some risks  and to make some choices. But when I am depressed and alone I don’t have to make as many choices or take any action except to keep  isolating myself and staying apart. This Home Study Program will help you see that it is in being part of a bigger group, with people like yourselves, which  will gradually give you the desire  to be part,  share and  stay involved in your own  active recovery using the 12 steps of Depressed Anonymous. ”

Source:  Home Study Program: (c)The Depressed Anonymous Workbook, pages 4 and 5.

“One of the more constant behaviors of the individual depressing is to engage in fewer and fewer pleasant activities. The person depressed just can’t bring himself or herself to do anything that might cause a sense of elation or pleasure. If you feel that you are bad, worthless and without any value, then you can’t  get yourself to do something that might make you have a good feeling about yourself. An individual depressing can make him or herself feel anxious, sick and even faint. With the support of a group like Depressed Anonymous and the fellowship here on the web one   can begin to see that life doesn’t have to be lived alone and in  misery. And that is precisely the miracle of the group. You begin to see that you can stay parked in  neutral in your misery and feel hopeless or you can  step out in faith as most members of our group do, and admit that you’ve had it with the sadness and begin to choose life. I do believe and know  a renewed sense of hope is in our hands – we can choose to be sad or by our inaction could choose to live without purpose and  joy.  It’s a risk we choose to take. ”

SOURCE: HOME STUDY PROGRAM:  (c)Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Page 37.

NOTE:  The Home Study Program/Kit includes both the Depressed Anonymous Manual and the Depressed Anonymous Workbook. This Program is available for purchase online  here at the Depressed Anonymous Website.  Other literature, which applies to  the 12 Steps and to the experience of depression are likewise available. Check it out.

 

 

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“I WANNA BE FREE!”

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“I WANNA  BE FREE”

Today were going to introduce you to the Home Study Program or Kit, as it is sometimes called,   a program utilizing  the Depressed Anonymous Manual, 3rd edition (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville and The Depressed Anonymous Workbook (2001). Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

Included in this self help  Home Study program is utilizing   the Depressed Anonymous Workbook, with the coordinated    Depressed Anonymous Manual. Examples of this process will be illustrated today as we begin  our abbreviated  Home Study Program here at our website. Our intention is to give the reader a sampling of the process of how to use the Workbook and the Manual.

The idea of using a self help  Home Study program is to help people who do not have a face to face Depressed Anonymous group  in their home area.   We believe that to begin a self-study  program, in the privacy of one’s own  home,  treatment facility  or hospital, or with a good friend–all these encounters  can be a valuable tool for those who want to begin helping themselves. We also have persons from around the world utilizing this format for their personal recovery.

The Depressed Anonymous Home Study program  can provide an individual with a step-by-step plan of action giving individuals the freedom from the pain and isolation of depression .  The shackles of our interminable  sadness can be broken by the power and nature of the 12 Spiritual principles of the 12 Steps.  The  beauty of the Home Study program is that you  work at your own speed and give yourself the  time to reflect and absorb  material from the Workbook questions as you make your  own unique responses. Simultaneously, pertinent information on the Workbook sections will be correlated to sections located  in the Manual.

In the coming days we will acquaint the reader with the process of working the 12 steps by  using the question and answer format.  These same few questions   are used in the Workbook. These will give you an idea of how  the  Home Study program is processed. Again, what will appear here will be a small sampling from  each of the 12 steps of Depressed Anonymous, utilizing  material from both  Manual and  Workbook. Each Step will include a pertinent reference from the Manual  to a subject raised in the question section. You will provide your own answers to the Workbook questions  and   reflect   upon your own depression experience. Gradually, step by step,  you will  build a recovery plan as you become familiar with the process as laid out  here on our website.  The Home Study program is   designed to lead you deeper into the reasons/causes that brought you to Depressed Anonymous initially.

“In this natural world one of the first laws is that all growth is gradual”. This is a marathon not a sprint!

Our motive here at our website is   to help one get started in familiarizing you with the process of using this 12 Step Home Study   program.

Let’s begin with Step  one. “We admitted that we were powerless over depression – that our lives have become unmanageable.”

This is Step One of Depressed Anonymous.

“It is our purpose in this Workbook to reflect on some of the ways which  we can admit we are depressed and  begin digging out  one step at a time.

In our Manual Depressed Anonymous it states that:

“You have to admit that you’re powerless over this depressed behavior and likewise  admit that your life is unmanageable.”  You don’t want to go on living this way. In fact,  some days you feel that you just want to lie down and die, but deep inside you there is that Spirit, call it God, Higher Power, or whatever, that keeps you searching for a way out. A part of you is still hanging on and giving you hope to try to live through the pain of hopelessness and isolation. You just know there has got to be something out there  that would give you at least a glimmer of hope. This part of you has been competing for years, with  those other parts of you that say “end it all,” “give it up – you’ll never feel better,” or  words “you’re losing your mind and you can’t go through all this for another day”  appear to be winning the battle.” Depressed Anonymous Manual, Pages 32-33.

The Depressed Anonymous Workbook, reviewing Step One  states:

One of the major reasons for this Workbook is that it can lead us to serenity and establish  positive directions for life. If we really are serious about leaving our pit of despair and depression and wanting to do something positive about it,  we will have to take the bull by the horns and get serious about our own life. I’m willing  right now to decide to give the 12 step program a whirl. I want to feel differently. I have nothing to lose but my depression and my fear of what might replace it when it is gone!

From what I hear from the other members of the group I have nothing to fear but my fear. I know it sounds simple – because it is.  Depression clouds, complicates and confuses our reality. So, the final line is this – we know we are not alone.  We are together with others who understand and who know the feeling of sadness and depression.

What good is it to admit that our depression has made us feel powerless? I already know that you might say “that is why I’ve  spent  thousands of dollars on hospitals, doctors, counselors and drugs!”  But really for a person to admit that their powerlessness  is what gives us new power -– paradoxically. It’s like  letting go of a death grip on our continued sadness that made the sadness grow and thrive. But somehow – again I don’t know how it all works – when I am defeated, deflated and down and have the 12 steps in the fellowship at my side there is like a small ray of light starting to shine in my mind and heart. It’s like saying, I’ve had it this way all my life – now I’ll try it your way! Okay here’s a game plan.

Now, today you have the choice of no longer being alone. You cannot go to the rest your life alone and if you do you may stay depressed. Know what we are asking you to do is get involved with our Depressed Anonymous group and begin to work the Steps. Start now. Today we can begin to change in the way we think, feel and act. We no longer have to feel that we are beat and down for the count. The word powerless describes the feeling all of us feel when we were depressed. We just felt that since we were told we had this chemical imbalance that there was nothing we could do for ourselves but take medication   and talk with a psychiatrist.

It is really the being “sick and tired” of  being “sick and tired” that gets us to go for help. When I feel powerless, I feel ashamed that I am depressed and I think  that I can’t do anything about my depression. I want to feel differently and so what I do is to try and feel better about myself. My shame of not being in control has paradoxically placed  me in more of a state of powerlessness, and feeling hopeless and helpless.

Now, please comment on the next passage from our Workbook which states:  “That’s the way it is with depression — over the years you get comfortable with feeling miserable, which doesn’t mean you like it, but that you’re just too afraid to risk feeling different…” (M35 )

QUESTION  1. 2    Can you relate to that and if so please write out your comments. (Use a separate notebook for all your answers).

What I intend today is to write down some thoughts about the following quote:

“Now that I have admitted I’m having a difficult time living,  I want to learn some new avenues that will make my life more enjoyable and much more livable. ” Workbook/ Page 7.

QUESTION: 1.13   How often do you feel that because of your depression your life is unmanageable?   Workbook /Page 9.

End of the Home Study Program/Kit for today. Please come back as we share more thoughts about the Home Study Program. Also, you can start this program today if you wish. The Publisher offers an eBook format of the Home Study Program which  can be downloaded onto one’s computer if that version is more suitable for you.

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So for today, you have been given a very brief introduction to the Home Study Program or kit.  We will continue to post brief summaries from the DA Workbook and the DA Manual to provide you with hope that there is freedom possible here for your leaving the prison of depression. I know–been there and done that!

If you want to learn more about the literature that is offered for  those interested in using the 12 Steps for freedom from depression please VISIT THE STORE here at our website www.depressedanon.com.  Online orders are accepted. You can also contact us here or at our email address:  depanon@netpenny.net

Fellowship

Symptoms of inner peace

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Be on the alert for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now,  been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

 

          Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

An unmistakable  ability to enjoy each moment.

A loss of interest in judging other people.

A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

A lost interest in conflict.

A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

Frequent, overwhelming  episodes of appreciation.

Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

Frequent attacks of smiling.

An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

An increased susceptibility  to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

—Anonymous

Acceptance, DA Literature, Depressed Anonymous, Mutual Aid, The 12 Steps

Let’s Get Real – The “Snap Out Of It” Advice Doesn’t Get It!

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Let’s get real!  How often do we hear people who’ve   never been depressed  tell people depressed to just “snap out” of their depression? Answer? Too many times.

In our Manual,   Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition  we read  “I don’t believe you can snap out of your depression, or suddenly   and dramatically get your life turned around by going to one Depressed Anonymous meeting, or reading the  12 steps  five times an hour. It just doesn’t happen that way, especially if you have lived with  your depression for any length of time. Even though we  emphasize  that  depression is not a disease, we do want you to know that depression over a long period of time can cause physical problems and upset the metabolism of the human organism. More and more, doctors see how  positive feelings, attitudes and emotions can help cancer patients maintain a remission and stay free of a recurring cancer condition. Unpleasant emotions such as fear, anger, resentment, tension and depression all work against recovery.

I would call the sadness  that  has  been with us for as long as we can remember,  a learned way to respond to certain negative stimuli. What you will be doing when you come to a Depressed Anonymous meetings is to get involved in your own healing. You will find other men and women who are struggling with the same pain as you are. You will discover that the first step in coming to grips with depression that won’t  quit is for you to surrender it,  quit fighting it.  Let the God, as you understand God  take over your life and help let it restore you to sanity, peace and understanding of the way in which you can find the path  out of your depression and pain. Depressed Anonymous works if you begin the work of the spiritual program that we’re going to outline in this book.  Depression is a moral problem and as such there needs to be a moral solution,  one part of which is to admit that we are responsible for ourselves and that we can’t blame it on genes, psychological predispositions or one’s spouse or some other situation.  We are going to take charge. We choose to un-depress ourselves. Today! One day at a time!

…But let me warn you — it isn’t easy to do something different from what you have been doing  most of your life. This is especially true when it comes to the way we see ourselves, our world and others. There are no magic pills and no easy answers to bring us immediately out of this inner pain and anguish. It does take time and work.

If you really want to leave behind your painful sadness, the daily tears, and the feelings of worthlessness, then begin now to admit the unmanageable mess of your depression. You have had it with feeling out of control!

That’s the way it is with depression – over the years you get comfortable with feeling miserable, which doesn’t mean you like it, but that you’re just too afraid to risk doing something different. When you want to change and leave your depression behind, the choice that you want to make is immediately dashed to the ground because you  feel there is no hope for you. “I can’t pull myself up by my bootstraps and start to feel better,” you tell yourself. Most the time, we tell ourselves that we will do it when we feel better. (See reference to” I’ll do it when I feel better”   below). Folks, let me tell you something – you will never feel better until  you begin to physically get moving! We all know that we feel better only when we get into gear and get busy – distracting ourselves  from those ever present miserable  thoughts which whisper how bad we are and how hopeless life seems to be.”

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SOURCES: (c)Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition (2011). Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pgs. 31-32.

(c) I’ll will do it when I feel better. (2015) Hugh Smith. Depressed Anonymous Publications.  Louisville.

(c) The Depressed Anonymous Workbook, (2002)(Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.

VISIT THE STORE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DEPRESSION AND THE HEALING POWER OF THE 12 STEPS.

ALSO LEARN HOW TO USE THE HOME STUDY KIT FOR YOUR  PERSONAL RECOVERY PLAN OF ACTION!

Faith, Hope

The Rabbit who made our Easter special!

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Our Easter Rabbit  made his first appearance on Easter Sunday in 2015. He showed up early Easter morning in our back yard as we waited for our four  grandchildren to arrive for their annual Easter egg hunt. Now this was not one of those fancy chocolate Easter bunnies, all shrink wrapped  in  gold foil, whose presence you see in all the stores readied for sale before Easter Sunday.   No, this bunny  was very much alive. My wife and I were both happily shocked to see him. There he was, nestled in the green spring grass, like  he was waiting for the annual hunt  to start.

How did the bunny know it was his day?  This day all Christians celebrate Resurrection day. We know that  rabbits and eggs  have traditionally been part and parcel of the Easter feast. It appeared that not only had  we all the eggs, children egg hunters readied to the hilt with their baskets, but we had our special guest, our very own Easter rabbit.  It was quite a day for all of us. The rabbit  was unaware of his special status I am sure.

Now fast forward one year later to the year  2016, our bunny showed up one day before Easter. We had been talking about him earlier in the week and wondering if he would come again. Yes,  here he was again. Wow! This time  he showed up a day before Easter…could he be following a different calendar? It was like seeing an old friend come home again. Maybe he just wanted to make sure he was at the right place, and  on time.

Now it is Easter morning, 2017 when  we went to our back yard performing our annual ritual of placing eggs all around, and confidently expecting our Easter rabbit to be joining us this Easter as well. Sorry to say, he was a no show. No Easter Rabbit this year.  And so we were very  saddened. What made us think he would be here this Easter as well? Expectations are many times based on all that has happened before. If he made it on Easter two times before it seemed like he could surely make  again this Easter. The odds were in our favor. Maybe he forgot, we thought, as he was usually here either on Easter day itself  or at least before.   Oh well. maybe next year we thought.   We’ll have to wait for Easter  2018. We had high expectations.

Then yesterday, just a day after Easter, who shows up in our yard? Yep, you guessed it.  A spontaneous joyful shout went up from our daughter and her friend–when we heard her scream “Our Easter bunny is here! Our Easter bunny is here!”  And like magic  there he was hopping, back and forth, with a spring in his hop,  through our yard, from one end to the other. In a way it was like he was saying, “did you miss me?”

Not only did we miss him, we expected him to be here on Easter. So what if he was a day late–he showed up. We know that he will always be our special Easter rabbit. For our family, he continues to be   our special gift on Easter Sunday, the day before,  the day after, or whenever.

Hope for us is that he will be back next year. We just know, believe and expect that he’ll be here.

Life is much like our bunny.  Sometimes when we hope for things to turn out the way we wish, it works out that way. And then sometimes , when we feel shaky inside, when we begin to feel a little doubt creep into our soul, that is when our expectations for something good to happen shut down. Somehow, our lives have received a precious gift, the gift of expecting a miracle, such as  our Easter rabbit’s continued  annual appearance at Easter…on, before or after.   We knew  at some level that he would return –we just knew he would come back.  We looked for him and here he was. Believe. Expect, don’t give up. Hope. We never want to let doubt cloud our hopes  and expectations from coming true.  Each new day can brings us closer to what we hope for. Live in hope. Just believe that your dreams will come true.

Hugh