Fellowship Sponsoring When I Give, I Get It took every ounce of courage I had to ask someone to be my sponsor. The first two people I asked had to refuse; they were sponsoring others and didn’t feel they could give me the time they thought I deserved. The third agreed—and my life changed. She was very strict: I would do what she told me to do, … Read More
Recovery Around the World Part of the Mosaic We all belong! We all belong! We are like pieces of a puzzle individually coming together to form one picture, not because of our differences, but because of what we share—compulsive overeating. Most of my life I didn’t feel as though I fit anywhere. I was a fat child suffering the indignities of what today would be called bullying; then … Read More
Fellowship Term Lesson I went to World Service Business Conference as a new delegate, with excitement and some fear. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew I was there to give service, but I was afraid I wouldn’t get enough downtime. (I have to balance my need for downtime against a tendency to isolate.) Balance was my motto for the week, but … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Peaceful Progress 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 … Read More
How OA Changed My Life My Best Me For half my life, I felt like some kind of awful, monstrous presence—peculiar, pessimistic, and pathetic. I had a dark secret that even I didn’t know about, and almost every action I took was viewed as negative. At home, I was a scapegoat, and at school, I was a crybaby; but wherever I was, I always felt like something from … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Spirituality The Sunlight of the Spirit When I began to explore ideas of a Power greater than myself, I readily conceded that nature is majestic—I often found peace among the redwood trees or in the Pacific surf—but praying to nature didn’t work for me. Then, in the quiet of meditation, I recalled a childhood memory: calling ‘God’ the beauty of the sun’s rays peeking through rainclouds. There … Read More
Relapse Slipping & Sliding As Is I thought I was living the dream— smack-dab in the middle of OA Paradise! I was abstinent, I’d lost weight, I attended meetings, and I was working my program. All was good. I remember hearing about the “honeymoon” abstinence, that one day I would take a step backward before I would be able to move forward again. I felt it … Read More
Steps Step 5: Seeing My Part When I arrived in OA, I was full of anger, resentment, blame, guilt, and a lot of other negative emotions. When someone did a “wrong” to me, it was his or her fault and never mine. Everything that happened to me was not my fault. Life wasn’t good to me; I was always the innocent person being hurt. When I … Read More
Service Prep Time I recently attended an OA workshop about working an action plan. The leader shared many examples of how she uses this Tool in her recovery, while other members asked questions and shared their experience as well. I felt inspired in this roomful of recovery, but I also felt a nagging worry about such plans. After all, my self-will has created … Read More
Recovery Inside Life (at the Convention) From the time I was a preteen struggling with weight and food, I thought I would always be on the outside of life, looking in at people living it. And then my Higher Power led me to the doors of Overeaters Anonymous. At my first meeting, I learned I wasn’t alone. But at my first convention, I felt it to … Read More