Tools & Concepts Working the Program Eight Other Tools Here I sit, self-quarantined in the middle of a viral pandemic after returning home from the teeming petri dishes of an airport and airplane. I’ve been advised to stay put for two weeks, which is just as well since some of my meetings are closed indefinitely. So, what’s a compulsive overeater to do? Isolate? I think not. Last time I … Read More
Tools & Concepts The Step Ten Connection Action plans are boring aren’t they? They’re just another way of procrastinating. The best thing is to just get on with it! I’d heard statements like these from many people in OA meetings, but I wasn’t really sure what I thought, because I wasn’t actually doing an action plan. The OA Tools of Recovery were well known to me, and … Read More
Tools & Concepts Anything You Need When action plan was added to the Tools ten years ago, I was not sure how to utilize it. I looked up what action plan means: “An action plan is the process of identifying and implementing attainable actions, both daily and long-term, that are necessary to support our individual abstinence and emotional, spiritual, and physical recovery” (The Tools of Recovery, … Read More
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts A Good Sponsor Wannabe My sponsorship style is patterned after the way I was sponsored: I try to be gracious, kind, and compassionate. I also attempt, as my sponsor does, to match my style of sponsoring to the needs of the sponsee—not always an easy task—and I have found this approach often needs tweaking as my sponsee and I go along. The specifics of … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Self-Sustaining Abstinence Did you know that OA exists in Barillas, Guatemala? I am writing to you from a small, rural village outside of the town. Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. My heart is full of gratitude, and my belly is not stuffed from overeating holiday treats! My two teens, my husband, and I have spent the last four days with the … Read More