Steps A Spiritual Gauge The June 1 readings in For Today and Voices of Recovery are both about Step Six. The way I practice and understand this Step today involves my perspective. As I grow in relationship with my loving Higher Power through the process of surrender and trust, I see myself differently. Instead of seeing myself as flawed or defective, I see myself … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Negative Space The biggest negative I have to overcome lives between my ears. It isn’t an outside circumstance or even an emotion. It is my own focus on the negative. I learned this type of negative thinking at a young age. Complaining was habitual and commonplace in my family of origin—so much so that I didn’t realize how much I did it … Read More
Working the Program Anger Management The hardest character defect for me to accept was anger. After years of depression and stuffing down my feelings, I actually believed that anger was an asset because it energized me. But when a valued friend told me my anger made me unbearable to be around, I cried (crying is the first step in surrender for me), and I realized … Read More
Steps Step 6: Wishy-Washy I recently had to change out my dishwasher. That doesn’t seem like a big thing, but I put it off as long as I could. I used duct tape for months to keep the front panel on. Even after I needed extra rinses to get the dishes clean, I still took a couple of weeks to order a new dishwasher. … Read More