For Today: March 25th

For Today: March 25^th

We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.

Aesop

An OA saying that cautions against foolish and excessive desires is: “Be careful what you pray for, you may get it.”

A woman who shares that view told of needing plastic surgery after losing more than 200 pounds. In arranging for a face lift, she decided to go for a perfect nose while she was at it, even though she had always been pleased with her nose. To her complete horror, the new nose turned out to be a disaster---a far cry from the “perfect” nose she had envisioned and decidedly worse than the old nose.

There is little this OA would not give to have had her wish for a new nose rejected.

For Today: Thought my wants far outstrip my needs, I know that sanity and balance for me is to bring them even.

For most of my life, my wants outweighed my needs. And, as a result, my body outweighed ITS needs. I ate more than I needed to eat to live a healthy lifestyle; I used food for comfort, entertainment & free therapy.

But how ‘free’ is  it to use excessive food as a form of therapy? It’s laughable, really, how expensive the price truly IS!

For the luxury of eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to,  I gave up many freedoms. I gave up my sense of self-respect; I gave up my freedom to move around unencumbered; I gave up  the desire to play with my kids, to go to events…..I was too preoccupied worrying about what to eat to have time for fun activities. I gave up the right to wear fun, cute clothing….I took on the burden, instead, of wearing 2x’s and tent-like mumus. That was only part of the price I paid for the ‘freedom’ to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to.

For today, my fondest wish is that I hold onto my abstinence & that I reap the benefits that result from my restricted food intake. Because, when I am abstinent, I am a better mother, a better wife, a better friend, a better sister, a better daughter, a better employee, a better listener, a better person in every regard.

And what is THAT worth? There is no amount of deliciousness on earth worth giving up my abstinence for!