Readings

For Today: "Nothing has more strength than dire necessity." Euripides "Rock bottom is a place where change becomes a dire necessity. i must change or die The strength of that necessity drove me to Overeaters Anonymous, pried open my closed mind and let in visions of a life beyond my wildest imaginings. today, my admission of powerlessness is the dire necessity that gives me the strength I need to go on living and functioning as a responsible, contributing meember of siciety. i am abstinent, I work the twelve-step program of recovery as well as I can each day, I go to meetings and I stay in touch with OA members. For today: Nothing gives me more strength than abstinence. it is the number One necessity in my life. -- Voices of Recovery: "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers." Tradition Five "After ten years in OA, I had experienced a sixty-pound weight loss. But now I was in relapse - no meetings, no phone calls, no calls from others. Then one day two OA friends suggested that I bring drinks to unity Day. I hesitated but said I would do it, hoping that I would forget over the next few weeks. But I didn't forget, and being 'Miss Responsibility.' I did what I said I would do. At the meeting I didn't want to share, but a game led me to discuss the Fifth Tradition. I cried and shared about my relapse and the two friends who had called me and brought me back to OA. I have been abstinent, in recovery, and doing service ever since that day. I am most grateful to those two OA friends and encourage others not to forget the folks we haven't seen for awhile. We need them, and they may need us. -- In This Moment: "In This Moment, I am. I exist. I am no longer a cringing shadow in the corner. I am substantial. i have a presence. I have personality, character, and personal style. i matter. I am free to be me, up front and in the open. I am an integral part of the universe. I am needed. i am here to fulfill my purpose on this earth. i am unique. i am precious. I am me." -- The Language of Letting Go "Freedom from Self-Seeking Please free my thinking of self-will, self-seeking, dishonesty, and wrong motives." paraphrased from Alcoholics Anonymous "There is a difference between owning our power to take care of ourselves, as part of God's will for our life, and self-will. There is a difference between self-care and self-seeking. And our behaviors are not as much subject to criticism as are the motives underlying them. There is a harmonic, gentle, timely feeling to owning our power, to self-care, and to acts with healthy motives that are not present in self-will and self-seeking. We will learn discernment. But we will not always know the difference. Sometimes, we will feel guilty and anxious with no need. We may be surprised at the loving way God wants us to treat ourselves We can trust that self-care is always appropriate. We want to be free of self-will and self-seeking, but we are always free to take care of ourselves. God, please guide my motives today, and keep me on Your path. Help me love myself, and others too. Help me understand that more often than not, those two ideas are connected." ==