For Today: May 12th

A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.

Andre Gide

It was true yesterday, and it is true today: To keep my abstinence and continue to enjoy the promises of this program, I stay on the path that goes straight through rather than around life’s problems. It isn’t always easy. I am sometimes tempted to take the more attractive way. But today I have a choice. I can accept whatever comes in the calm understanding that discomfort and disappointment are as much a part of life as pleasure and joy. I no longer bounce off walls trying to figure out what to do. I have a program that tells me.

For Today: Thank God I have a path to follow that leads me to my objective: a life of sanity and usefulness to myself and others.

I think it’s an old OA saying that states, The only way out of it is through it.

I can dance around the truth looking for an easier softer way. Or, I can accept my disease for what it is and choose the path of least resistance. The path of Abstinence. 

For me, abstinence means no sugar; it means 5-6 small, healthy meals a day; it means eating until I am slightly full but not stuffed. It means saying No Thank You to sugar in any form.  If I eat one bite of sugar, I am breaking Abstinence and I risk my program and my state of mind.

Sometimes it seems easier to over-indulge than to stick to my Food Plan. But I know that’s NOT the easier way; it leads me to self-disgust & negative thinking.  While the easier way may seem more attractive, in reality, it’s far UGLIER.

At my OA meeting, several members were struggling; they refuse to develop and stick to a food plan, #1, and #2, they fight the ‘disease’ element, insisting they aren’t really food addicts or compulsive overeaters. It always stuns me how people refuse to accept the truth because I find it a whole lot easier TO accept the truth than to fight it.

When I accept the truth, I see the seriousness of what truly IS a disease.  Then I can treat it accordingly…..as I would any other disease. I can then think of my food plan as my ‘prescription’, leading to a deeper level of acceptance.

When I fight the truth, I look for ways to have my cake & eat it too. And that means I spin my wheels endlessly & never wind up getting anywhere.

For today, I am SO thankful to have a path to follow that gives me a life of sanity, balance & usefulness.

For today, I pray to stay on the path to recovery, one day at a time.