In Voices of Recovery (which is one of the OA approved daily refection and morning meditation books) the January 5th entry really moved me. I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about the topic. It was about Tradition 1 of OA, citing, “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.”
The entry discusses how every person has their own recovery program in OA and that OA needs to remain respectfully individual because everyone has individual triggers. A certain food that might jump-start my compulsive eating might be okay for you to eat, just like how a certain food that might harm you is okay for me to eat. Our commonality is not based in a blanket abstention; it is based in our common compulsion and our common solution – the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of OA.
Who am I to judge what is right or wrong for my OA fellows? It is not my place to carry ‘my message’. I am to carry the OA message of recovery. Thankfully, “The program is broad enough for all of us to do whatever is necessary.” – Voices of Recovery, Pg 5
I love all of you! See you at the next meeting!
