~ COMPASSION ~
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"How far you go in life depends on your
being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic
with the striving, and tolerant of the
weak and the strong. Because sometime
in your life you will have been all of
these."
~ George Washington Carver
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This Twelve Step program works wonders
on many levels. But one of the most
noticible changes I've seen in my life
has been in the area of compassion.
Eating disorders can really mess a
person up. All of us who have the
disease of compulsive eating, in no
matter what form, have been laughed at,
discriminated against, or generally
overlooked by those who don't suffer
from our disease. So, one would think
that compulsive eaters would be more
loving and understanding to their
fellows. For the most part this is
true. But I have seen compulsive eaters
be just as cruel as our more
normal-weight counterparts.
If we can mistreat each other, how can
we ever expect others to treat us
differently? We need to remember where
we were in our disease, for there are
others in that same situation. We need
to see ourselves in the newcomers to our
program, because we run the risk of
returning to where they are now. "There
but for the grace of God go I" takes on
a whole new meaning when we apply that
phrase to our situation.
Sometimes we see varying degrees of
success in this program of recovery. We
must each work our program, and allow
our fellows to work their program. It's
not up to us to take someone else's
inventory concerning the success or
failure of their program. We need only
to keep our own side of the street
clean, and to show compassion to those
of our fellows who are struggling. After
all, compassion was what prompted the
founding of our fellowship in the first
place.
ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .
I will consciously practice compassion
toward those who still suffer, because I
remember where I came from on this path,
and realize I could return there.