Stepping to Freedom

Entering the rooms of OA nearly three decades ago, I anticipated that I’d be given a diet based on restriction and deprivation. I never dreamed I’d be given a life-enriching recovery program and the freedoms in each of OA’s Twelve Steps:

Step One. Admission of my powerlessness means freedom from my mental obsession with food, allowing expanded space in my heart and head so I can become teachable regarding the OA recovery program.

Step Two. Coming to believe in a Power greater than myself means freedom from self-obsession, control, and perfectionism, allowing me to experience a more balanced relationship with God and my OA fellows.

Step Three. Turning my will and life over to God’s care means freedom from my difficulties, allowing me to develop faith in God’s guidance and foster my own intuition as I live in recovery, one day at a time.

Step Four. Making a moral self-inventory leads to freedom from pain and remorse, allowing me to begin to change as I move out of the shadows and get out of my own way. Reparations to my fellow humans have begun as I courageously take this step.

Step Five. Admission of my wrongdoings leads me to freedom from my isolation as I honestly admit my mistakes and open myself up to healing relationships with others.

Step Six. Being entirely ready for God to remove character defects means freedom from the fear of change as I trust I can live well without my defects.

Step Seven. Humbly asking God to remove my shortcomings means freedom from the parts of me that have kept me stuck (and in my disease).

Step Eight. Listing people I’ve harmed and becoming willing to make sincere amends to them means freedom from guilt and harsh judgments as I practice forgiveness toward myself and others and ready myself to make amends.

Step Nine. Making those amends means freedom too. As the OA Twelve and Twelve, Second Edition says, “This Step has freed us from the shackles of our past mistakes in a miraculous way” (p. 63). This release allows me greater closeness to my Higher Power and a sense of peace with myself and the world.

Step Ten. Continuing to take personal inventory means freedom from harmful feelings that may cause a backward slide in my recovery. Steadfastness in my program is maintained when I promptly and honestly make amends whenever they are needed.

Step Eleven. Seeking conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation means freedom from the pitfalls of thinking I can run my life better than God. It keeps the spiritual part of my program alive and healthy.

Step Twelve. Carrying the message of recovery to others and practicing these principles throughout my life means freedom from fear of the future. It keeps me grounded in the sacred principle that I can’t practice healthy recovery unless I share my experience, strength, and hope with my fellows.

— Debbie A., Minnesota