Recovery Meditations: December 31st
Life Is Worth Living
"These, then, are my last words to you:
Be not afraid of life.
Believe that life is worth living.
and your belief will help create the fact.
William James (1842 ~ 1910)
I have lived my life as a compulsive eater and
I have known many other compulsive eaters. I believe I can say unequivocally
that life is much more difficult in so many ways for us than for many others. I
denied that what I suffered from was a disease; yet I watched as over the years
it robbed me of so many things others take for granted. Most of us will
acknowledge early on that the manifestations of compulsive eating affects us
spiritually, emotionally and physically. Volumes have been written about each of
these so most reading this know the devastation it causes. When I began to
inventory my life and saw how much the quality of it had suffered, it saddened
me greatly.
I believe
one of the most difficult ways the disease of COE, or any compulsive illness,
affects us is the way society looks upon us. Because I have experienced life
both ways, I know how behavior and attitudes change in interacting with a COE
vs a non-COE. We wear our disease on the outside ... but the extensive damage
is far more wide-spread than just the physical. The disease wrecks havoc in
every area of our lives as we silently go about our life doing the things
expected of us. We don't dare scapegoat the disease. After all, this is not a
cancer ... or heart disease. Yet it can be just as serious.
Many
decades ago, a group of alcoholics gathered and, as a result, life began to
change for those of us who struggled with the disease. When I reached the point
in my life that I could actually acknowledge that compulsive eating was
affecting it and that I had done everything possible to stop it and couldn't,
it was one of the most freeing moments I've ever experienced. I learned that I
was as powerless over this as I would have been suffering a heart attack. I
also learned that I couldn't handle it alone. I learned that there were twelve
steps that were absolutely necessary if I were to survive emotionally and,
perhaps even physically.
I went
from fighting the disease to acknowledging it. Because of the Steps I learned
that there were tens of thousands of others exactly like me and that we all
spoke the same beautiful language. I learned not to be afraid of life ... and
that, despite this despicable disease, life is truly worth living. I was told
to "act as if" and by doing this it became no longer an act.
One day at
a time ...
I affirm
that my life is worth living. One day at a time, I affirm that I will not be
afraid of anything that makes me feel otherwise.
~ Mari
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Each Day a New Beginning
In the process of growing to spiritual maturity, we all go through many adolescent stages.
—Miki L. Bowen
Progress, not perfection, is our goal in this recovery program. And many days we'll be haunted by the feeling that we've regressed. We will display old behavior. We will feel unable to change, to go on, to make gains once again. But these periods will pass, and soon progress will be evident again.
We must be wary of our need for perfection. It's this need that makes normal progress seem not good enough. And yet, that's all we're capable of - and all we'll ever need to be capable of. The program, its Steps and the promises offered, provide the tools we have lacked, yet need to use in order to accept ourselves wholly and imperfectly.
Daily attention to our spiritual side will foster the spiritual and emotional health we long for. Prayer and meditation, combined with honest inventory-taking, can show us the personal progress needed, the personal progress made. However, we will falter on occasion. We will neglect our program some days. But it won't ever be beyond our reach. And each day is a new beginning.
Today is before me, and I can make progress. I will begin with a quiet prayer and a moment of meditation.
—Miki L. Bowen
Progress, not perfection, is our goal in this recovery program. And many days we'll be haunted by the feeling that we've regressed. We will display old behavior. We will feel unable to change, to go on, to make gains once again. But these periods will pass, and soon progress will be evident again.
We must be wary of our need for perfection. It's this need that makes normal progress seem not good enough. And yet, that's all we're capable of - and all we'll ever need to be capable of. The program, its Steps and the promises offered, provide the tools we have lacked, yet need to use in order to accept ourselves wholly and imperfectly.
Daily attention to our spiritual side will foster the spiritual and emotional health we long for. Prayer and meditation, combined with honest inventory-taking, can show us the personal progress needed, the personal progress made. However, we will falter on occasion. We will neglect our program some days. But it won't ever be beyond our reach. And each day is a new beginning.
Today is before me, and I can make progress. I will begin with a quiet prayer and a moment of meditation.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey
© 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.
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Food for Thought
No Exceptions
Abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception. Since I am a compulsive overeater, any exception would mean that I might lose control. If I do not control my disease, it controls me. Therefore, there are no exceptions to the rule that abstinence is the most important thing in my life.
In order to follow this rule, I need to depend on a Power greater than myself. Alone, I am not strong enough to maintain abstinence at all times and in all places, but through the grace of God and the support of the OA fellowship, I can do it.
With abstinence, the rest of my life falls into place. I have an incurable illness, but one which can be controlled day by day through following the OA program, working the Twelve Steps, and staying in contact with my Higher Power. There are good days and bad days. but there is always abstinence. I am grateful to be an abstaining, recovering, compulsive overeater.
May I remember each day there are no exceptions to abstinence.
Abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception. Since I am a compulsive overeater, any exception would mean that I might lose control. If I do not control my disease, it controls me. Therefore, there are no exceptions to the rule that abstinence is the most important thing in my life.
In order to follow this rule, I need to depend on a Power greater than myself. Alone, I am not strong enough to maintain abstinence at all times and in all places, but through the grace of God and the support of the OA fellowship, I can do it.
With abstinence, the rest of my life falls into place. I have an incurable illness, but one which can be controlled day by day through following the OA program, working the Twelve Steps, and staying in contact with my Higher Power. There are good days and bad days. but there is always abstinence. I am grateful to be an abstaining, recovering, compulsive overeater.
May I remember each day there are no exceptions to abstinence.
From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L.
©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation
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The Language of Letting Go
Affirming the Good
Fun becomes fun, love becomes love, life becomes worth living. And we become grateful.
—Beyond Codependency
Wait, and expect good things - for yourself and your loved ones.
When you wonder what is coming, tell yourself the best is coming, the very best life and love have to offer, the best God and His universe have to send. Then open your hands to receive it. Claim it, and it is yours.
See the best in your mind; envision what it will look like, what it will feel like. Focus, until you can see it clearly. Let your whole being, body and soul, enter into and hold onto the image for a moment.
Then, let it go. Come back into today, the present moment. Do not obsess. Do not become fearful. Become excited. Live today fully, expressing gratitude for all you have been, all you are, and all you will become.
Wait, and expect good things.
Today, when I think abut the year ahead, I will focus on the good that is coming.
Fun becomes fun, love becomes love, life becomes worth living. And we become grateful.
—Beyond Codependency
Wait, and expect good things - for yourself and your loved ones.
When you wonder what is coming, tell yourself the best is coming, the very best life and love have to offer, the best God and His universe have to send. Then open your hands to receive it. Claim it, and it is yours.
See the best in your mind; envision what it will look like, what it will feel like. Focus, until you can see it clearly. Let your whole being, body and soul, enter into and hold onto the image for a moment.
Then, let it go. Come back into today, the present moment. Do not obsess. Do not become fearful. Become excited. Live today fully, expressing gratitude for all you have been, all you are, and all you will become.
Wait, and expect good things.
Today, when I think abut the year ahead, I will focus on the good that is coming.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
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Time is a circle. The end is the beginning.
Day by day, a year comes and goes. Today's end is the beginning of the rest of our lives. We take with us what we have learned today. We are the same and not the same.
As long as we are alive, we will continue to wrestle with questions, seek answers, and solve problems. Let's be gentle with ourselves and others, choosing to respond with non-judging love and acceptance instead of unrealistic demands of perfection.
We have found a blueprint for recovery. Our preoccupation with not enough and too much has led us to a spiritual solution. Each day brings us new opportunities to express our development - a more patient response to a traffic jam, the ability to empathize with a child's embarrassment, the acceptance of a disappointment. Today is another day to learn how to be serene, to nurture body and spirit so that we may function as an integrated totality. We will continue to learn and grow toward recovery.
I will begin and end today by listening to my inner voice.
You are reading from the book:
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