The slogan for this month is “Keep an Open Mind.” 

This saying reminds me that although I may not always know the answer to a problem or be able to see a solution, by keeping an open mind I make myself available to other possibilities – even ones I may never have been able to come up with myself. If what I’ve been doing hasn’t worked or keeps producing the same results, why not try something different? Maybe a new idea or perspective is just what I need. Maybe trying a different approach will produce a different result. What have I got to lose?

Al-Anon meetings close off with a reading that includes the following: “if you try to keep an open mind, you will find help. You will come to realize that there is no situation too difficult to be bettered and no unhappiness too great to be lessened.” (This Is Al‑Anon, pg 11)

When we “Keep an Open Mind” we will find that guidance comes in many different forms. It could be a line in a commercial, something said by a child, or even a passing comment from a stranger. 

There was a time in my life when I was searching for direction. I prayed daily for God to guide me and show me the way to go, but I didn’t get any direct answers. I felt confused, alone, and as if I couldn’t go on without some specific direction. Then one day as I was watching a movie, one of the main characters said “Trust the plan, trust the process.”  In that moment I felt like everything stopped, just for a few seconds, so I could clearly hear the message I needed to hear. It was as if the actor was speaking directly to me!  Although the message I heard wasn’t a direct “do this” or “don’t do that,” I knew my real struggle was in trusting God and I needed the reminder that what I was going through was all part of the plan – and the process was part of that plan. I have never forgotten that moment or that quote and still find myself using it today for other situations. 

“When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of a Higher Power, we affirm that we need guidance. Our job now is to keep our minds open, knowing that life-changing help can take any avenue, any form, any voice. Our teachers are all around us.”* 

*From How Al-Anon Works for Friends and Families of Alcoholics, copyright 2008, by Al‑Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Al‑Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., page 73