When I am Committed to Living My Dream
By Joyce Chapman
♥ I love myself, because I love the life I’m living!
♥ My good feelings come from knowing I am being my best, not from whether or not you like me or approve of me.
♥ I look within to decide what to say and do.
♥ The quality of my life is up to me.
♥ My energy is focused on my dream, not tied up in another’s struggles. I lovingly support you in solving your problems, but I am too busy living my own life to try living yours too.
♥ I claim the freedom to do whatever I need to do in order to responsibly learn and grow. I expect you to claim the same freedom.
♥ Honoring my feelings, expressing myself, and contributing to the world are sources of my self-esteem.
♥ I want to be with other people who naturally share my interests and enthusiasms in life. I wouldn’t dream of sacrificing what is important to me in order to build a relationship with you. And I wouldn’t dream of asking you to sacrifice who you are for me. Our relationship does not monopolize our lives: it nourishes us to move out and into the world as independent individuals.
♥ I will tell you when I feel hurt, angry, or rejected and I will listen to your feelings too. We each own our own feelings; we are responsible for them. Our caring for each other will not intrude on our self-responsibility.
♥ My actions originate in my own personal integrity. I trust my intuition, and act on it. At all times I respectfully ask myself, What am I feeling? What do I want? I may collect information about what your feelings and wants are too, but I do not allow others’ feelings and wants to invalidate my own.
♥ I give to you as an expression of who I am. I don’t give when it doesn’t feel good. I won’t give to buy your love. I refuse to burden our exchanges with hidden expectations and guilt. If I want something from you, I will ask for it, leaving you free to say no. I don’t depend on you to be the source of my good or to meet my needs, but perhaps we can meet some of our needs cooperatively.
♥ It’s my dream that I am living, not yours. I do not expect you to live my dream, either. Our lives will blossom as we each live our own dreams.
