A Lot to Do in Sixty Seconds I see that I have been going through the motions, paying lip service to the program and making contact with HP in a superficial way. When I ask, “What is distracting me?” I am thankful for the awareness God gives me. The answer? “Nothing!” In this moment, I realize that what I have been labeling “worldly distractions” is actually me … Read More
Choosing A Discipline I work a pretty structured program and sometimes hear people talk about “rigidity” when they refer to things that I do gladly. It’s spiritually liberating, and has given me fourteen abstinent years so far, so I’m a happy boy. I choose a disciplined approach because I made a deal with God that I would do my share to maintain a … Read More
Ten Things Here is what has helped me get abstinent: Planning out my food for the next twenty-four hours and making my lunch and snack night before. Making a commitment to my OA sponsor (by phone or email) of what I will eat for the next twenty-four hours. If I need to change it, I call her ahead of time. Being rigorously … Read More
Let’s Ask Permission I have been in OA for nineteen years. Recently, after a Big Book study meeting, another member of the group told me I never share on the portion of the Big Book that is being read and that I always just share on whatever I want. Well, I was shocked and felt attacked. What I want to ask of everyone … Read More
Correcting and Cross Talk Despite six years of OA and maintaining a 90-pound (41-kg) weight loss, I still sometimes feel attacked in OA. This was the case recently at a meeting where we read from OA literature and then opened the floor for sharing. As I began to read, someone interrupted with a loud demand: “What’s your name?!” I stumbled for a few seconds … Read More
Chairing is Difficult I’ve had personality conflicts in the past. Once, I was chairing my home group’s business meeting, and it was not clear how the meeting should be conducted. A couple of people criticized me because I was not using Robert’s Rules of Order. I was not familiar with them. I asked if anyone would like to take over, but no one … Read More
Doing What I Can I had wanted to give service in any way I could. When there were no abstinent people available for a position on the intergroup board for our region, I offered to take up a position that I had thought I could do. I did not think my attention deficit disorder would be a problem, because I knew how to write … Read More
Serenity in a Recovery Desert I recently visited Vermont, where I grew up. I was there for two weeks to see my mom and a few other family members and friends. Coming from Tucson, where there is a very strong OA community, to a place where there are only two OA meetings was challenging. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to share ten … Read More
Turning to the Tools When being judged negatively for belonging to OA, I have experienced the same emotions that I used to reactively eat over. But using the Tools of the program has helped me stay in the solution. Reading Conference-approved literature, writing, telephoning a sponsor and other members, receiving phone calls from sponsees, attending meetings, doing service, and having an action plan has helped … Read More
Abstinence Anniversaries I am looking for any writings that give reasons why we celebrate abstinence anniversaries. I have just become the anniversary chairperson for a meeting I attend and would like to give a clear explanation of the benefits of celebrating anniversaries. Can you direct me to a writing or provide me with the reasons? We celebrate to reflect our pleasure and … Read More