Other people’s opinions are none of my business. Since learning to live in recovery, I have accepted the truth of this, but it wasn’t easy. I sacrificed many pages and bytes, much ink, graphite, and finger taps to journaling on my path to acceptance and gratitude.

I eat foods and amounts that are nutritious for my body. I move and rest to keep my metabolism healthy. I let go of resentment or stand up for myself to keep me in balance.

These are hard lessons, every one! I am acquiring the willingness and patience to keep learning them daily, sometimes hour by hour, sometimes minute by minute. Guilt about having this disease does not serve me. Acceptance and gratitude about living in recovery grant me sanity.

My path to spirituality is my path. I am not “bad” because I do not follow the religion of my sponsor, my friend, or my relative. That person’s spirituality, whether from birth, from family, or from seeking, belongs to that person. My spirituality does not need to fit that person’s opinion or definition. My spirituality connects me to what gives me peace, harmony, balance, and sanity. I live ethically, not from any fear of future or external punishment, but because it is part of being honest with myself. I live in harmony with my beliefs and principles.

Following a religious practice that I do not believe would be dishonest and upset my balance. I can visit ceremonies and rituals of the people I love without needing to submit to the beliefs expressed. I can choose not to visit with anyone who cannot accept my peaceful path.

Each day I live in recovery is special, and I learn these lessons as often as I need to. I need never be perfect. Quiet, peaceful, patient, persistent progress is good enough for me to live in recovery, one day at a time.

—Anonymous

  • The Silent Engine

    We gather in our meetings to share our experience, strength, and hope—I hear that expressi…
  • Surrender Happens 24/7

    When I came into OA, I was on the edge of a mental breakdown. I’d tried everything to stop…
  • Daily Contact

    Looking back to my life one year ago, I would have never thought that I would be as conten…
Load More Related Articles
  • Low-Tech Outreach

    I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off porti…
  • Available to Everyone

    Here are a few ways I carry the message to other compulsive overeaters. I print out OA’s C…
  • Radio-Active

    I was listening to a commentary about obesity on our local radio station. The commentator …
Load More By admin
  • An Atheist’s Prayer

    Higher Power, build with me and do with me as this program requires. Relieve me of the bon…
  • Making OA More Accessible

    In May 2019, three of us founded an atheist/agnostic face-to-face meeting in Bethesda, Mar…
  • Translation for the Newcomer

    I am athletic and an atheist. I don’t fit the stereotype of what a compulsive overeater lo…
Load More In Atheists & Agnostics
Comments are closed.

Check Also

Low-Tech Outreach

I am on my intergroup’s public information committee. We make flyers with a tear-off porti…