"Codependent"

"Most important is that we not identify ourselves with such labels as codependent or addict, or get stuck in chronic recovery as if we were constantly in need of fixing. The goal is to heal and move on, embrace life's ups and downs, and move from recovery to discovery. Then we can break through the limitation imposed by hierarchy, work together for a just society, and free our capacity for courage, joy, power, and love."

- Charlotte Davis Kasl

Take care of all our children

"If I had an opportunity to stand on a mountain and make my voice heard across the land, I would yell, Take care of all our children. They are the future, they are sacred, they deserve our care. Whatever we don't spend on them in terms of care, opportunity, and love will haunt the next generation in terms of more violence, sickness and apathy. And it will haunt us all on a spiritual level, because allowing children to starve and go without education is a crime of the spirit.

One of the greatest connections we need to make is between the care we give our young children and their ability to be productive, sock conscious adults. I can't stress enough that the seeds of addiction are planted during the first critical years of life. If addiction is being in denial, then the most addictive part of our culture is the way we deprive children of care and love - and then act surprised when they get into drugs, become violent, or have babies to fill up the emptiness. The cost to society is staggering, and the prognosis for the children of these children is terrifying. Yet we massively deny the needs of infants and young children, move them around and ignore all the research on the importance of early bonding and consistent care with loving and competent caregivers."

- Charlotte Kasl, PhD