Thursday 5 January 2017

Living my Program: Into Action

He does not believe that does not live by his belief.  - Thomas Fuller*

This morning's reading is a reminder that my recovery is a program of action, not just writing and thinking.  So far, I have an active plan of eating, a consistent reading/writing program, and a nightly AEIOU inventory with my OA buddy.  I also have service to my home group and intergroup.  Where can my program be stronger?  I am not making much progress toward a healthy body weight.  That is my increased focus by tracking my food and activities so I have a mindful awareness of what my actions are contributing toward physical recovery.

The reading in For Today says:
Do the principles I believe in have any relation to my daily life?  I may think the twelve-step program is great, but how can I say it works if I merely admire it rather than live by it?  When I arrived in OA, what I heard rang true because it came out experience, not theory.
Anyone can "learn" the program, but to achieve recovery it promises takes more than intellectual understanding; it takes sustained effort to apply its spiritual principles in every area of my life.  Only then -- when I am practicing what I say I believe in -- can I give it away to another compulsive overeater.
For today, I discipline myself by not 'talking program' unless I am trying to work it.  If I believe that ours is a program of recovery, I will live by that belief.

Blessed be.

*Thomas Fuller, 1608-1661, English churchman and historian.  He also wrote, "One who would have the fruit must climb the tree."

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