good stuff in the big book
 

I've been reading a lot from the Big Book lately and wanted to share some excerpts that really ring true for me.

pg317
Following the principles laid out in the Big Book has not always been comfortable, nor will I claim perfection. I have yet to find a place in the Big Book that says, "Now you have completed the Steps; have a nice life." the program is a plan for a lifetime of daily living. There have been occasions when the temptation to slack off has won. I view each of these as learning opportunities.
When I am willing to do the right thing, I am rewarded with an inner peace no amount of food could ever provide. When I am unwilling to do the right thing, I become restless, irritable, and discontent. It is always my choice. Through the Twelve Steps, I have been granted the gift of choice. I am no longer at the mercy of a disease that tells me the only answer is to eat.

pg450
Then I realized that I had to separate my abstinence from everything else that was going on in my life. No matter what happened or didn't happen, I couldn't compulsively eat. In fact, none of these things that I was going through had anything to do with my abstinence; the tides of life flow endlessly for better or worse, both good and bad, and I cannot allow my abstinence to become dependent on these ups and downs of living. Abstinence must live a life of its own.

I'm approaching 6 months of abstinence, and I feel like a new person.

Oh Marny,

That last one especially! Rationalizing eating by saying that it's because of some external factor... controlling eating (or letting God control eating however it's put), has to be stronger than anything else...

Def going to start hanging around here more often... grew up with my dad going to AA, unfortunately the OA meetings aren't very convenient...

Hey Sarah-

Welcome! It's great to have you here. It's amazing how much the Big Book resonates with so many people from all walks of life.

Marny