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HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?

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This slogan helps us gain perspective.

 

If we take the time to think about what really matters to us, we may include such concerns as health, serenity, adequate food and shelter, and loving support from others.

 

Each of us is free to determine for ourselves what is truly of value, but most of us agree that we often get upset about matters of little consequence.

 

Compared to whether or not we will have enough to eat today, how important is it if we overcook the chicken for dinner? Is forgetting to pick up a newspaper worth the cost of our serenity?

 

What price are we willing to pay to win an argument or prove to other people that we are right?

 

How important is it if a call we have been expecting doesn’t come through, or if a loved one makes a choice we do not like?

 

Does a partner’s unkind words in the morning merit a whole day of misery, obsession, and hostility?

 

Does it merit even five minutes of unhappiness? Does it really matter?

 

Must we take it personally?

 

Is it worth the price of self-recrimination, resentment of others, or hours of worry?

 

Just “How Important Is It?”

 

Even if we decide that the situation is important, we can ask ourselves whether it is important today.

 

Are we living in the unknown future, worrying about things that may never come to pass?

 

Today is all we have. Why waste this precious gift of time on trivial concerns when we could be appreciating the fact that we have everything that we truly need?

 

The perspective we gain when we apply this slogan makes it possible to set aside

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  • petty worries,

  • minor irritations,

  • and baseless judgements 

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so that we might celebrate the extraordinary richness and wonder that life offers.

 

 

From ‘How Al-Anon Works’, Chapter 9 The Al-Anon Slogans.

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