I am a compulsive eater who arrived in OA six years ago and has been in continuous abstinence ever since. I maintain a weight loss of more than 40 kilograms (88 lbs). I know I have an emotional, spiritual, and physical disease and need to keep my recovery strong by doing daily work. This is a simple program, not an …

I don’t really know how a computer works. People with comprehension greater than mine designed this amazing tool. But I don’t need to understand all the intricacies of a computer in order to use one. If I just follow simple directions, I can do pretty amazing things with words and pictures, such as send and receive messages in a flash, …

I have been in program for six years and have recently found recovery. The obsession of the mind has been removed, and I can honestly say I no longer desire to use food as a solution to life’s problems. I have been placed in a position of neutrality with food, and I feel grateful to God and to this program …

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 …

My first Unity Day was in February, 2010. I had just started attending meetings, but I had no idea how the program worked. At a Unity Day celebration, I was exposed to dozens of people working the Steps. It wasn’t about being overweight; it was about sanity. At a workshop, I made friends who encouraged me to work the Steps, …

Unity plays a role for me in going to any length to recover. My sponsor told me to attend OA events, and not only was it good for my program, but also it was a service to support all the OA members who organized the event and all the others who attended. So often I need to make attendance a …

Just what are “trusted servants?” We read Tradition Two every week in our meeting. It states in part, “Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.” While I was attending an OA region meeting, it became very clear to me just what that “trusted” bit means. Looking at the leaders of the meeting, watching them be sane, reasonable, and …

Attending World Service Business Conference as a delegate, I discovered how much responsibility is involved in shaping and maintaining the OA recovery framework from which we all benefit. Every policy and piece of literature goes through an extensive process that includes several layers of review and revision. Ordinary OA members participate in that development process, so our program’s resources are the …

We may be a group of abstinent and recovering compulsive overeaters, but our individual defects seem to be quick to surface when important decisions need to be made, especially decisions that affect our group and meeting format. Thank goodness we have the Traditions to guide us. “Our common welfare should come first,” but Tradition One is hard to follow sometimes …

There was a time when I was a regular blood donor. Every other month, I would make my way to the local blood center, roll up my sleeve, and give a pint of A-positive. It was a small thing, but it made me feel good to know I was doing something that had lifesaving potential. But then things started to …