Recovery
Meditations: November 24th
~ Gratitude ~
If the only prayer you
said in your whole life
was, "Thank
you," that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart
I spent most of my life blaming my circumstances and those
around me for the way I felt, for my eating problem and for my terrible life in
general. There was nothing good in my life at all and I viewed everything
through a dark cloud of negativity. I couldn't see anything good in my life,
and life became totally unbearable. Poor me, I thought. It really wasn't fair
that I had been made to suffer the way I had, and I felt awash with self pity.
The more sorry I felt for myself, the more I ate, and the more I ate, the worse
I felt; it became a vicious circle.
When I was brought to my knees by this disease and came into
the fellowship, I was forced to take stock and look honestly at my life. For
the first time ever I considered the losses and difficult situations in my life
that I had perceived as unfair and negative. In each case there had been
amazing gains. For example, the car accident I'd been in hadn't been my fault
at all. In fact, it became the catalyst that enabled me to change careers. One
of the bereavements that I had brought a wonderful and special friend into my
life. And so it went. Before, I had bemoaned my fate as a compulsive overeater.
Now, I am actually grateful to be a compulsive overeater, because without my
disease I never would have a wonderful program that helps me to live my life
sanely and serenely, nor would I have all the very special people who love and
support me through thick and thin.
One Day at a Time . .
.
I am grateful for all
the wonderful miracles that have happened in my life as a result of this
program ... may I never forget to thank my Higher Power for all these wonderful
blessings.
~ Sharon S. ~
*********************************************
Each Day A New Beginning
"If onlys" are lonely.
—Morgan Jennings
The circumstances of our lives seldom live up to our expectations or desires. However, in each circumstance we are offered an opportunity for growth or change, a chance for greater understanding of life's heights and pitfalls. Each time we choose to lament what isn't, we close the door on the invitation to a better existence.
We simply don't know just what's best for us. Our vision is limited. Less so today than yesterday, but limited still. The experiences we are offered will fail to satisfy our expectations because we expect so much less than God has planned for us in the days ahead.
We get what we need, in the way of relationships, adventures, joys and sorrows, today and every day. Celebrating what we get and knowing there is good in it eases whatever trial we are undergoing. We are cared for, right now. We need not lament what we think we need. We do have what we need. We will always get what we need, when we need it.
I will breathe deeply and relax. At this moment my every need is being attended to. My life is unfolding exactly as it should.
—Morgan Jennings
The circumstances of our lives seldom live up to our expectations or desires. However, in each circumstance we are offered an opportunity for growth or change, a chance for greater understanding of life's heights and pitfalls. Each time we choose to lament what isn't, we close the door on the invitation to a better existence.
We simply don't know just what's best for us. Our vision is limited. Less so today than yesterday, but limited still. The experiences we are offered will fail to satisfy our expectations because we expect so much less than God has planned for us in the days ahead.
We get what we need, in the way of relationships, adventures, joys and sorrows, today and every day. Celebrating what we get and knowing there is good in it eases whatever trial we are undergoing. We are cared for, right now. We need not lament what we think we need. We do have what we need. We will always get what we need, when we need it.
I will breathe deeply and relax. At this moment my every need is being attended to. My life is unfolding exactly as it should.
From Each Day
a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey © 1982,
1991 by Hazelden Foundation.
Food For Thought
Principles Before Personalities
One of the strengths of our fellowship lies in the fact that we place principles before personalities. OA is not a social club. We form meaningful and lasting friendships, but personal friendship is always subordinate to the program itself.
Putting principles before personalities means that we may expect help and consideration from any other member. Conversely, we are expected to give our attention and assistance to anyone who asks, regardless of how well we like that individual personally. The Twelve Steps and principles of OA unity are more important than the personal relationships of any members in our group.
Because we are committed to abstinence from compulsive overeating and to working the program, we respond honestly and say what we believe to be in the best interest of those we sponsor and those we talk with. We do no one a favor if we dilute our program in order to make it more palatable to someone we personally like.
May I remember to place principles before personalities.
One of the strengths of our fellowship lies in the fact that we place principles before personalities. OA is not a social club. We form meaningful and lasting friendships, but personal friendship is always subordinate to the program itself.
Putting principles before personalities means that we may expect help and consideration from any other member. Conversely, we are expected to give our attention and assistance to anyone who asks, regardless of how well we like that individual personally. The Twelve Steps and principles of OA unity are more important than the personal relationships of any members in our group.
Because we are committed to abstinence from compulsive overeating and to working the program, we respond honestly and say what we believe to be in the best interest of those we sponsor and those we talk with. We do no one a favor if we dilute our program in order to make it more palatable to someone we personally like.
May I remember to place principles before personalities.
From Food for
Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992
by Hazelden Foundation.
The Language of Letting Go
Surrender
Surrender means saying, "Okay, God. I'll do whatever You want." Faith in the God of our recovery means we trust that, eventually, we'll like doing that.
Today, I will surrender to my Higher Power. I'll trust that God's plan for me will be good, even if it is different than I hoped for or expected.
Surrender means saying, "Okay, God. I'll do whatever You want." Faith in the God of our recovery means we trust that, eventually, we'll like doing that.
Today, I will surrender to my Higher Power. I'll trust that God's plan for me will be good, even if it is different than I hoped for or expected.
From The
Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation. All
rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in
any manner without the written permission of the publisher.
Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Founation is:
We will sabotage ourselves if we don't believe we deserve success.
We will sabotage ourselves if we don't believe we deserve success.
Maybe we could try a different approach - stop torturing ourselves for the things we have done wrong and then try forgiveness instead. We can make amends by doing service work – a way of keeping that self-sabotaging guilt at bay.
Sometimes people don't know how to directly ask for forgiveness, but their behaviors will tell us that's what they're saying. Whenever somebody asks for forgiveness, whenever we have a list of resentments, whenever we've done something wrong, it's a good time to start making things right.
Sometimes people don't know how to directly ask for forgiveness, but their behaviors will tell us that's what they're saying. Whenever somebody asks for forgiveness, whenever we have a list of resentments, whenever we've done something wrong, it's a good time to start making things right.
You are reading from the book:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.