Recovery Working the Program Action and Potential When I think of powerlessness, I get an image of myself as a lightbulb alone in a box on the shelf. I’m powerless, but I have potential. If I connect with my power source, if I’m attached to a fixture or socket and the light switch is turned on, then my potential comes to fruition: I can shine warm, useful … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Slogan Direction The Third and Eleventh Steps were difficult for me in the beginning because of the word “will”; “our will” in the Third Step and “His will” in the Eleventh. “Will” sounds so demanding, definitive, coercive, and exacting. However, in the process of writing about Step Three, I came to understand it as “God’s direction.” I believe God is always trying … Read More
Recovery Relationships Meditation: “Quality Time” This is a story of my relationship with HP, whom I choose to call God. I did all of my Steps up to Step Eleven. The Eleventh Step said for me to pray and meditate. I was good at praying and asking for what I wanted, but staying quiet and listening? That was all new to me. All I knew … Read More
Diversity Recovery Around the World Familiar Format I am on social media a lot, and I was fortunate to be among the first members of the first registered OA group on a popular social media site. We follow all Twelve Traditions of OA and have two meetings a week. I found my sponsors through this group. Through the site, I message one of them daily about my food, … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts A Tendency to Overshare I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it: we spend the first twelve minutes or so of a fifteen-minute qualification telling members how awful things used to be (as if they don’t already know!) and then about two minutes sharing what happened to change us and one minute on what we are like now. Don’t get me wrong. I … Read More
