"Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have."
Tin Man
Written by Dewey Bunnell, ©1974
These are simple words, and at first glance look like a song from the 'Wizard of Oz.’ However, to me they are complex and have deep meaning.Janie
I have a body, a mind and a spirit; yet for the better part of my growing-up years I thought I had a flaw. I never felt complete and kept searching for whatever-it-was that would make me whole and fix me. I had no idea I was looking in the wrong places; but the real problem was I didn't know what I was looking for.
I never knew how to just 'be' without expecting some kind of negative feedback or teasing or criticism or uncertainty in return. Because I never felt good enough, I learned to 'not be' and to make myself invisible emotionally while eating, and in later years eating and purging.
Coming to OA was like surfacing for air after staying under water too long. People who didn’t know me understood and supported me. I slowly opened up and shared at meetings and did service and stopped hiding, and the void created with food and loneliness began to fill with hugs and support and recovery.
Today I have a Program with wonderful friends who reinforce I am OK as I am. God gave me and continues to give me what I need - physically (help with my food plan), emotionally and spiritually. The miracles in my life keep coming when I least expect them and only when I turn them over to God. Each new miracle and blessing nourishes me.
I began writing professionally again; writing is my passion, and my disease stole it from me. My spirit is happy, and I am grateful to my loving friend who had confidence and faith in me.
One day at a time ...
I am discovering my emerging identity was inside me all the time.
*******************************
Each Day A New Beginning
—Barbara W. Tuchman
The gift of friendship has been extended to each of us sharing this program. Our interest is common: we want to stay abstinent. And we share the belief that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. We trust our commitment to one another here. We are learning to live the program's principles in all our affairs.
In years gone by, friendships were often missing
from our lives. We had a friend, here and there, certainly, but could
she really be trusted - with our secrets, with our spouse? An overriding
fear and one not without reason. It's likely that we, too, failed to be
good friends. Friendship, anytime, means risking vulnerability. It
means making a decision to be trustworthy. And it means not backing away
from either, anytime.
Friendships so enrich our lives; they complete
us. The experiences shared among friends give us all an edge on living.
It is no accident that we have been drawn here together. What we have
will help another.
I must be willing to give away my intimate self
to my sisters in trust. My strength as a woman recovering will increase
as my ties of friendship increase.
From Each Day
a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey © 1982,
1991 by Hazelden Foundation.
Food For Thought
When we were overeating, we thought mainly about trying to satisfy ourselves. The more we ate, the more we wanted to eat. The more we ate, the less satisfied we were. We finally realized that satisfaction was not to be found by consuming more and more food.
When we stopped overeating, we suddenly had much more time and energy available for constructive activities. We began to contribute more to our families, our jobs, our recreation. We found new areas where we could be of service to others.
Because OA has given us so much, we in turn are able to share with our groups. As we give to others, we receive self-satisfaction as a by-product. This is a much more powerful satisfaction than we ever found in the refrigerator!
For each of us, serving and contributing to the best of our abilities means abstaining. Without abstinence, we can never be satisfied.
Thank You for opportunities to give and for the satisfaction of abstinence.
From Food for
Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992
by Hazelden Foundation.
The Language of Letting Go
For children, Valentine's Day means candy hearts, silly cards, and excitement in the air.
How different Valentine's Day can be for us as
adults. The Love Day can be a symbol that we have not yet gotten love to
work for us as we would like.
Or it can be a symbol of something different,
something better. We are in recovery now. We have begun the healing
process. Our most painful relationships, we have learned, have assisted
us on the journey to healing, even if they did little more than point
out our own issues or show us what we don't want in our life.
We have started the journey of learning to love
ourselves. We have started the process of opening our heart to love,
real love that flows from us, to others, and back again. Do something
loving for yourself. Do something loving and fun for your friends, for
your children, or for anyone you choose.
It is the Love Day. Wherever we are in our
healing process, we can have as much fun with it as we choose. Whatever
our circumstances, we can be grateful that our heart is opening to love.
I will open myself to the love available to me
from people, the Universe, and my Higher Power today. I will allow
myself to give and receive the love I want today. I am grateful that my
heart is healing, that I am learning to love.
From The
Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
The more you love, the more love you are given to love with.
--Lucien Price
With love comes promises of sentiment as rapturous as fall's splendor of color and as delicate as a crystal of snow. Love empowers us to handle the struggles that bind us, the struggles that stretch us to grow. The familiar sights and muffled sounds of each moment vibrate with greater intensity when we're giving and receiving love.
We're deluded to think the love of others will complete us, so we strive for it; we long for it. But we receive love only when we're unselfishly offering it. It is one of life's wonderful mysteries that we must first give love away if we hope to get it.
Loving another tests our patience, strength, and security. Love spurned is dreaded and perhaps too familiar, but we must risk it once again if we are to find the love we deserve.
The gifts of love are many and guaranteed when the act of love is honest, unselfish, whole, and unconditionally offered.
The more you love, the more love you are given to love with.
--Lucien Price
With love comes promises of sentiment as rapturous as fall's splendor of color and as delicate as a crystal of snow. Love empowers us to handle the struggles that bind us, the struggles that stretch us to grow. The familiar sights and muffled sounds of each moment vibrate with greater intensity when we're giving and receiving love.
We're deluded to think the love of others will complete us, so we strive for it; we long for it. But we receive love only when we're unselfishly offering it. It is one of life's wonderful mysteries that we must first give love away if we hope to get it.
Loving another tests our patience, strength, and security. Love spurned is dreaded and perhaps too familiar, but we must risk it once again if we are to find the love we deserve.
The gifts of love are many and guaranteed when the act of love is honest, unselfish, whole, and unconditionally offered.
You are reading from the book:
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