For Today: November 27th

People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unsettledness may be said to be a state of becoming.  Which is what we in Overeaters Anonymous are doing.  Just as growth is a process that is never finished, so is recovery an ongoing process:  I am recovering, not recovered.   Being settled is never forever.  I can say, “when this is over, I’ll be all right.”  But then something else arises, and the process begins again.  That is the natural pattern of growth---one step after another.  If there is no pain, what is there to work through, to learn from and to grow beyond?

For Today:  I rejoice that the feeling of being unsettled—having many problems to deal with, much adjusting to do—sends me to my Higher Power instead of the refrigerator.

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 Wanting to feel 'settled' before finding abstinence is just another excuse to put off doing what must be done.

Kind of like saying I'll start my new diet 'On Monday.'  Monday never comes, and using that excuse allows me to stuff myself until Monday.

How else can I overeat in peace if I don't drum up some tired old excuses?

Life is full of tough situations. If I allow myself to break abstinence for every 'tough situation' that arises, I will not find or keep it.

The goal of OA is to stop using food as a coping mechanism.  To learn how to live without the burden of excess; to live a happy, joyous and free lifestyle once and for all.

In order to do that, I have to box up all of my excuses and throw them into the dumpster.

For today, I will not be starting a plan of abstinence on "Monday".  Today is Sunday and for this day, I choose to preserve my abstinence.  Because, in reality, Monday may never come.  I will live for today; yesterday is gone & tomorrow isn't here yet.