Readings

For Today:

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." Helen Keller

"When I am troubled, I think my pain will last forever. Peace of mind appears to be gone for good, and the fact that I have faced and conquered problems in the past is forgotten.
Although yesterday's suffering may have little bearing on the present, I know that overcoming it gave me strength. My burdens today might seem greater than any I've ever had, but so is my ability to deal with them. I am not where I once was. I have learned in OA that when I can do nothing more to improve a situation, there is a process in which I can trust absolutely: let go and let God.

For today: Pain often comes from non-acceptance."
So true! So true! Back to text:
"Pain often comes from non-acceptance. if I find that i can neither change nor accept a certain reality, I let it go for now, knowing that it is the first step in overcoming my misery."

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Voices of Recovery

"What we do have to offer is . . . a Fellowship in which we find and share the healing power of love." OA 12 & 12 p. ix

"When I entered the Twelve-Step program, I was broken, bleeding, discouraged, debauched, bloated, and hating myself. Then came my first ray of hope. 'We will love you until you can love yourself!' Yes (praise God), this miracle has come true. I love and respect myself today, I had been badly buffeted by life, including other compulsions and major illnesses. However, my health as a total person is much improved. Love from others in OA and from my Higher Power has healed me. I have learned to accept myself without judgment, as other OA members accept and love me. I, too, can now reach out in Overeaters Anonymous and let love pass through me to heal others. To every newcomer I say, 'We will love you until you can love yourself.'"

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In This Moment

"In This Moment, I have spirituality.

My life was unmanageable. I had no goals, no insights. i struggled with decision-making. Before CoDA, I had religion. now, I have spirituality which sustains me on a daily basis. I have a higher Power to guide, support, and listen to me. My spirituality and Higher Power have lifted a great burden from my shoulders. i no longer have to do anything alone.

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The Language of Letting Go:

"Setting Our Own Course

"We are powerless over other people's expectations of us. We cannot control what others want, what they expect, or what they want us to do and be.
We can control how we respond to other people's expectations.
During the course of any day, people may make demands on our time, talents, energy, money and emotions. We do not have to say yes to every request. We do not have to feel guilty if we say no. And we do not have to allow the barrage of demands to control the course of our life.
We do not have to spend our life reacting to others and to the course they would prefer we took with our life.
We can set boundaries, firm limits on how far we shall go with others. We can trust and listen to ourselves. We can set goals and direction for OUR life. We can place value on ourselves.
We can own our power with people.
buy some time. Think about what YOU want. Consider how responding to another's needs will affect the course of your life. We live or own life by not letting other people, their expectations, and their demands control the course of our life. We can let them have their demands and expectations; we can allow them to have their feelings. We can own our power tochoose the path that is right for us.

today, God, help me own my power by detaching, and peacefully choosing the course of action that is right for me. help me know I can detach from the expectations and wants of others. help me stop pleasing other people and start pleasing myself.

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