RECOVERY MEDITATIONS ~ One Day at a Time ~ February 25, 2011

~ STARTING OVER ~
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Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Before coming into this program I was,

and probably still am to a certain

extent, a perfectionist, so one of the

things I really struggled with is being

able make mistakes without feeling bad

about myself. So when I came into the

program, I decided that I was going to

do this program perfectly, and proceeded

to do just that. I followed a meal plan,

lost weight and worked the steps, and I

really thought I had it made. But I

hadn't counted on the fact that this is

a disease, and it is both cunning,

baffling and powerful. So when I had my

first slip, I was devastated and felt a

real failure.

Fortunately for me, with the help of

many loving sponsors over the years, I

have realised that I am not a failure if

I slip, but I am only one if I fail to

get up. This program has enabled me to

learn that when I make a mistake, I am

not that mistake, and that all I need to

do is to pick myself up and start

over. In the old days if I failed at a

diet, I would never have been able to

pick myself up so soon, and it would

always be an excuse to carry on eating

and start the diet again on Monday. Now

I know that my abstinence can even start

at the end of the day, rather than

waiting till tomorrow, next week or even

next month. I am slowly starting to let

go of the guilt I feel when I slip, and

am also learning to love myself even

when I do flounder, because with the

love and support I am given in this

program, I know I can always start over.


ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .

I will remember that I can start afresh any time I like, and don't need to feel as if I have failed.