12 Steps to a Better Holiday Season

Twelve Steps to a Better Holiday Season    1.    We admitted that the holiday season has a deeper meaning than devouring food. 2.    We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could help us see and celebrate the true meaning of the season. 3.    We came to believe that our Higher Power could help us appreciate the joyfulness of the season as we understand it. 4.    We made a searching and thorough examination of our relationship with food during the holidays and other things we enjoy about the season. 5.    We admitted to our Higher Power the exact nature of our food habits during holiday season past. 6.    We became entirely ready to allow our Higher Power to remove our attachment to food as a necessity of the holidays. 7.    We humbly asked him to remove our desire to partake of holiday treats. 8.    We made a list of all persons whose presence makes the holiday season joyful for us and with whom we would like to share our joy. 9.    We made plans to spend time with those people whenever possible, except when to do so would remove us from our primary purpose of abstinence. 10.  We continue to enjoy the company of friends and family and other nonfood aspects of the season. 11.  We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our appreciation of the season, praying for knowledge of its meaning and the joy we feel at the time. 12.  Having realized that sharing the joy of this season with others far outlasts the fleeting pleasure of food, we gave ourselves the gift of abstinence throughout the holidays and gave others the gift of our full attention and appreciation. Edited and reprinted from New Horizons newsletter, West 10th Street Big Book Meeting, November/December 1998. WendyA | December 5, 2016 at 8:05 am | Categories: Overeaters Anonymous, Recovery | URL: http://wp.me/p3bkut-rG