Readings

For Today:

"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy if I could say how much." William Shakespeare

Wow. How brilliant.

"There are many in OA who are known to be working a good spiritual program, maintaining abstinence and normal weight - and who are neither on the 'speaker circuit' nor among those who always volunteer to pitch at meetings.
Their silence does not disparage in any way the sharing of their more articulate fellow members. it is simply a fact, one which enlightens us with the understanding that we can be 'happy, joyous and free' and communicate that condition not through words but in that unmistakable glow found in the beautiful faces of recovering compulsive overeaters.
What we ARE does indeed speak louder than what we say.

For today: It is not necessary to describe my happiness; it is enough to feel it. My family, friends and fellow OAs will know it from what i do and say in going about the everyday business of living.

--

Voices of Recovery

"We complete our amends for our wrongful actions of the past by changing our actions in the future." OA 12 & 12 p. 78

"Though it can be humbling to apologize for something I've done wrong, it's easy to feel remorse when the pain of a recent mistake is still with me. The test of my commitment to the ninth Step is if I continue to improve my behavior after the initial feelings of regret have passed.
To amend something means to alter it. To be free of the wreckage of my past, I have to do more than just say I'm sorry when i harm another person. I have to change my behavior. This can be hard and sometimes even disconcerting, particularly when my old behavior patterns and beliefs are stronger than I thought. But continuing to work the Steps moves me through the difficult spots to new experiences of freedom and joy.
The fruits of recovery are great motivators to change, but alongside the hope of a brighter future is the equally powerful consequence of not changing - compulsive eating. if i don't change my thoughts and actions to reduce the harm I do in the future, I will overeat. Fro me, to overeat is to die.
A life well-lived requires that i continue to change, grow and clean up the wreckage of my past - and my present. If I do that, my life is better than I could have ever imagined. I thank my Higher Power for OA!

--

In This Moment

"In This Moment, I learn the most important thing.

I am grateful for my life today. When I came into recovery, i was newly separated. i was desperate to find someone who could give my life purpose - someone I could take care of, my soul mate. I heard at meetings that recovery meant learning how to take care of me, how to love myself. I didn't have a clue. I never learned that concept. Through working my program, I learned the most important lesson: 'I am all I need.' Today, I can say, 'I like me. I really like me!'

--

The Language of Letting Go:

"Surrender

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." Step Three of Al-Anon

"Surrendering to a Power greater than ourselves is how we become empowered.
We become empowered in a new, better, more effective way than we believed possible.
Doors open. Windows open. Possibilities occur. our energy becomes channeled, at last, in areas and ways that work for us. We become in tune with the Plan for our life and our place in the Universe.
And there is a Plan and Place for us. We shall see that. We shall know that. The Universe will open up and make a special place for us, with all that we need provided.
It will be good. Understand that it is good, now.
Learning to own our power will come, if we are open to it. We do not need to stop at powerlessness and helplessness. That is a temporARY PLACE WHERE WE RE-EVALUATE WHERE WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO HAVE POWER WHEN WE HAVE NONE.
ONCE WE SURRENDER, IT IS TIME TO BECOME EMPOWERED.
LET THE POWER COME, NATURALLY. IT IS THERE. IT IS OURS.

TODAY, I WILL BE OPEN TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT MEANS TO OWN my power. I will accept powerlessness where I have no power; I will also accept the power that is mine to receive.

--

Caps are by accident - no time to fix
But oh! I feel so much better now. Than ever. Step three has finally, really, fully set in!

God, I offer myself to Thee. To build with me, and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do They will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help, of Thy power, Thy love, and Thy way of life. May I do Thy will always. Amen.

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