Readings Yesterday's and Today's

Just for Today Jan 14:

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Talking about feelings is essential in Overeaters Anonymous. When I go to an OA meeting, the people there are like close friends - whether I know them or not. The more open and honest I can be when i share, the better I feel and the greater my chances of recovery.
One member gave away a fifth step and was stunned by an immediate lifting of the severe depression he had been suffering for months.
OAs are as different as any group of people anywhere. But we have one thing in common that bonds us instantly: we are compulsive overeaters.

For today: There is no one I can talk to who will understand me better than an OA member.

Today's For Today:

"Competitions are for horses, not artists." Bela Bartok

"The art of living is probably the highest form of personal expression: one is not concerned with who is behind or ahead, but rather with the enjoyment of now. There is no waiting for a payoff, for that day when certain things are settled or when that ship comes in. The art of living requires that I like myself, accept what I am and stop wishing I were otherwise. There is no room for pretense. People who have developed the art of living are sweetly loving and deeply sensitive while maintaining their independence. They are as respectful of their own values and opinions as those of others.

For today: In looking to others in the program for help, I am careful not to deny my own right of discovery."

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Yesterday's Voices of Recovery:

"Perhaps we didn't believe that are compulsive eating was a spiritual problem, or we felt that God was concerned only with more important matters and expected us to control such a simple thing as our eating." OA 12 & 12 p. 15

"I remember sitting down to my first abstinent meal, which was half of what I usually ate. I thought this amount of food would never satisfy me. But I wanted to follow directions, so I ate only what was in front of me. When I spoke to my sponsor later that evening, I told her how I had felt. She suggested that at my next meal I ask God to make it enough. I really didn't believe that God could or would help me with my food, but I took her suggestion on blind faith, and it worked! I no longer use food to fill the empty places inside me; God fills me instead.

Today's Voices of Recovery:

"In OA we have discovered that humility is simply an awareness of who we really are today and a willingness to become all that we can be." OA 12 & 12 p. 60

"OA has given me a newfound freedom, the freedom that comes as a result of practicing unconditional love and acceptance of the person I am today."
*~*WOW*~*
"In my fourth and fifth steps I realized what character traits and behaviors had outlived their usefulness in my life. I saw that my old ways of reaching out to the world kept me from reaching my full potential. In Step Six I became willing to let go of whatever stood in the way of my being present to life.
"I am powerless over fixing myself, but I am not helpless. I can pray for the willingness to be willing to surrender and allow the natural progression of change to unfold in God's time. I can even enjoy myself in the process.
"OA has given me back my power. Today I choose to practice unconditional self-acceptance while I relish the mystery of change."

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Yesterday's In This Moment:

"In This Moment, I have a new voice.

In recovery, I discovered my favorite feeling: Joy. Feelings overwhelmed me before CoDA. For a while, I didn't know that I had feelings.

Now, I smile with awareness and rejoice in gratitude. I wrestle with fear, anger, and hurt. A new spirit drives me. I don't doubt my authenticity; there is a new voice I call my own. I feel a new power within."

Today's In This Moment:

"In This Moment, I am true to myself.

'To thine own self be true' is on all my CoDA chips. This is what 'authentic' means to me. I used to be such a people-pleaser. I lost my identity and myself. I didn't know what I wanted or that it mattered. It was more important to make other pepole happy, anticipating their needs and wants, despite the cost to myself. I was proud that I could do that for my husband, family, friends, and co-workers.

Today, I am proud that my happiness comes first. I know who I am and what I like. I am assertive about asking for wwht I want or need. My life changed because i changed myself.

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Yesterday's The Language of Letting Go:

"Accepting Anger

Anger is one of the many profound effects life has on us. It's one of our emotions. And we're going to feel it when it comes our way - or else repress it." Codependent no More

"If I was working a good program, I wouldn't get angry . . . If I was a good Christian, I wouldn't feel angry . . . If I was really using my affirmations about how happy I am, I wouldn't be angry . . . Those are old messages that seduce us into not feeling again. Anger is part of life. We need not dwell in it or seek it out, but we can't afford to ignore it.
In recovery, we learn we can shamelessly feel all our feelings, including anger, and still take responsibility for what we do when we feel angry. We don't have to let anger control.
Being grateful, being positive, being healthy, does not mean we never feel angry. Being grateful, positive, and healthy eans we feel angry when we need to.

Today, I will let myself be angry, if I need to. I can feel and release my emotions, including anger, constructively. I will e grateful for my anger and the things it is trying to show me. I can feel and accept all my emotions without shame; and I can take responsibility for my actions.

Today's The Language of Letting Go:

"We learn some behaviors have self-defeating consequences, while others have beneficial consequences. We learn we have choices." Beyond Codependency.

"It is so easy to come to the defense of others. How clear it is when others are being used, controlled, manipulated, or abused. It is so easy to fight their battles, become righteously indignant, rally to their aid, and spur them on to victory.
'You have rights,' we tell them. 'And those rights are being violated. Stand up for yourself, without guilt.'
Why is it so hard, then, for us to rally to our own behalf? Why can't we see when we are being used, victimized, lied to, manipulated, or otherwise violated? Why is it so difficult for us to stand up for ourselves?
There are times in life when we can walk a gentle, loving path. There are times, however, when we need to stand up for ourselves - when walking the gentle, loving path puts us deeper into the hands of those who could mistreat us.
Some days, the lesson we're to be learning and practicing is one of setting boundaries. Some days, the lesson we're learning is that of fighting for ourselves and our own rights.
Sometimes, the lesson won't stop until we do.

Today, I will rally to my own cause. I will remember that it is okay to stand up for myself when that action is appropriate. Help me, God, to let go of my need to be victimized. Help me appropriately, and with confidence, stand up for myself."

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