Bright Ideas

Codependents often attempt to convince others what to think, do or feel.
-- Control Patterns

It’s also no longer about believing I know better than others what a Higher Power might look like. 
-- Issues with the God word, P. 84

I tend to fall in love with my “bright ideas,” my ways of understanding why people do what they do, for example. They really are pretty darn good - offering explanations that free me from blaming and lead me toward compassion. I like that. 

That applies to the God word in CoDA. It took me decades to finally figure out that it could mean the deep truth within me - the one that can give me guidance at every moment on how to live my life fully and honestly. My Higher Self. 

I capitalize because that is my way of honoring what I, and I believe everyone, has been blessed with. This is definitely a “bright idea” worth my love.  But it is MY idea - it is only for me. 

As I have read the dizzying array of ways other CoDA members have dealt with the issue of the God word, I reflect on my tendency in conversation to launch into all the reasons I see things the way I do. I try to sell others on the brilliance of my “bright ideas.” 

What a blessing there are others in the program, such as the member who wrote the quote above, who, oh so gently, reveal to me my codependent behavior. What is needed of me is not spouting it out to others but relishing, with deep gratitude, my ways of thinking and the serenity they produce in me. 

John R.
01/23/2025