Healers Walk the Earth

Many healers have walked the earth, and many dwell among us now. They wear different costumes, speak different languages, and follow different traditions. Yet the principles that create healing are universal: See perfection where others see limits. See wholeness where others see brokenness. Love while others fear. That’s the formula. All other details and instructions are given as you need them. ~ Cohen, Alan. A Course in Miracles Made Easy (pp. 154-155). Hay House. Kindle Edition.

In June, 1991, I heard my father
talking with his cousins, speaking
of their grandfather. I was amazed
they recalled his healing people
including his daughter reattaching a toe.
They spoke of his receiving a telephone call
where he healed a mule with words.
The idea of faith healing became real
for me that day. I still am fascinated
and firmly believe it’s possible
that my faith could be miraculous.
I believe. God help my unbelief!

Another poem I wrote about Sam Richards.

Sam Paisley Richards with wife Mamie and
youngest daughter Ruth

Circumambulation

Circumambulation is

a ritual term meaning literally
“to walk a circle around”
a holy place, person, or object.
Such rituals are related
to the widespread significance
of the sacred circle….*
Sacred? Not my circumambulation!
But since late December
I’ve walked more than a million steps,
more than four hundred miles,
the vast majority around and around
and around my back yard, six times
circumambulating to make
a thousand steps. A sacred circle?
I walk listening to Recovery recordings
occasionally, repeating prayers
and affirmations sometimes.
Sometimes listening to talk radio
on radio or podcasts. My walking buddies
may be near or miles away,
even an ocean and half-continent away,
or my constant company barking
and exploring.
But the real companionship
is my thoughts, myself,
and the Power Greater than Me
to whom I surrendered my life and my will
and daily surrender the bondage
of myself.  I cherish the time together
and the simple sacred circle.

* Encyclopedia.com/

Companions Honeybear and Benji

To Forgive Is to Wipe Out

To pardon means simply to remit or wipe out the penalty and let the offender go free, but to forgive means much more than this. It means to give “for”; that is, to give some definite positive good in return for the evil received. Is this “a hard saying”? One often hears this phrase: “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” That is not God’s way of forgiving. “I will not remember your sins” (Is. 43:25) is what He says. Why? Because He keeps right on giving “for,” giving us good for our evil. ~ Cady, H. Emilie. Complete Works of H. Emilie Cady (Annotated). Unity Books. Kindle Edition.

To give for.
It never occurred to me
that forgive is a compound word!
In the context of the etymology
it’s probable the for means completely.
And the quoted passage rings true.
that the giving is a right offered
to replace a wrong. In the Isaiah passage
God says, “I, even I, am he who blots out
 your transgressions, for my own sake,
 and remembers your sins no more.”
God keeps right on giving “for,”
giving us good for our evil.

Isaiah by Michelangelo

The Gift of Desperation

I have been blessed with the gift of desperation. I am convinced to my innermost core that I will always be just one bite away from my worst binge ever. ~ Overeaters Anonymous. Taste of Lifeline. Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

It’s a unique phrase,
“I have been blessed
with the gift of desperation.”
But when you’ve looked
for an answer for decades
and finally find it…and sanity to boot…
you cannot help but grasp
the treasure you’ve found
and know the inherent fear
that insanity could return
and all might be lost
in the sanity of those years
returning bu reverting to
destructive old behaviors.
May your innermost core…and mine…
escape the bite that loses it all…
that first compulsive bite!

Image copyright: Jason Flett

Justice or Mercy?

All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man

lords it over others to his own hurt. 10Then too, I saw the wicked buried – those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless. ~ Ecclesiastes 8.9-10 (NIV)

It’s not FAIR!

Do you hear me? It’s not FAIR!

A defendant before the bench with five cases pleads to one or two with dismissals

for the rest. What?

Commit one and get two free?

A bargain!

One judge gives twenty years, another, ten probated for the same

crime.

It’s not fair.

Me? I deserve three days in an electric

chair.

It’s not fair any of us get lenience.

I get relief from fear, freedom from guilt, joie de vivre.

Unrepentents feel that three days every day.

Grace. Such a great gift, God.

I’m so glad you don’t give me justice.

The Measure of Time

We ask for long life, but ‘tis deep life, or grand moments, that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Signify. What meaning would
the word have had for Emerson?
As an intransitive verb
it means “to be of importance.”
He says the depth of life,
the highlights count most,
that it’s the quality of living
that has greater weight.
Mere passage of boring moments
don’t signify. Living grand moments
are important. Today counts,
yesterday is past, tomorrow is not real,
the present is a present to relish!
Spiritual moments, not the ticks of the clock!

There Is No "Right"

“I knew if I could ‘get it right,’ I would have no problems.” What I’m most grateful for is that there is no ‘right.’ ~ Jhe T.

How many years did you “research”
how to get it right?
Do you believe in “getting it right?

If so, is it an individual rightor is there a single way, a pattern,
a blueprint to build Recovery?
My trigger foods are not yours.
You can resist what I cannot,
an I can eat with impunity
foods sure to shatter your plan.
But we can support each other
and understand as normal eaters
never can! I put my hand in yours
and together we can do
what we could never
do alone! © Overeaters Anonymous

Fear

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ~ Plato

Were you afraid of the dark?
Are you now? I guess technically
I am afraid of the dark
for the first time in my life.
What I’m afraid of, though,
is driving at dusk since
I basically totaled my car.
Was Plato right?
Is it a tragedy when men
(would Plato now say people?)
are afraid of the light?
Is that being afraid of life?
What do you fear?
Are you afraid of Covid-19?
Are you afraid of
people who don’t fear Covid-19?
What would Plato think?

Image Copyright : Lindsay Helms

Say It Until You Mean It

No matter whether you feel like it or not, say it. Put it into words. Out of the depths of misery begin sincerely and earnestly to speak words of praise and thanksgiving, and soon you will find yourself involuntarily saying: “I fear no evil; for you are with me…. My cup overflows” (Ps. 23:4-5). ~ Cady, H. Emilie. Complete Works of H. Emilie Cady (Annotated) . Unity Books. Kindle Edition.

Give thanks to God,
praise Him,
express gratitude for blessings received.
When anger toward God,
resentments about life in general,
yours in particular would be easier,
keep up the praise. Is it not true
that if you do, the words will evolve
until what flows naturally
are the ancient truths
experienced in your life such as,
“I fear no evil; for you are with me….
My cup overflows.”
Isn’t that a more comfortable
status than the negativity
that would have flowed?
Thank God!!

I Looked in the Mirror

But I also saw a woman who can barely look herself in the eyes, a woman who’d rather examine the dip at her waist than her own expression. I saw a woman who doesn’t trust herself. I saw a woman who was avoiding her own gaze and, when she did finally lock in on her reflection, saw something pretty close to despair staring back….

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my three years here it’s this: my mind is only as settled as my food plan is. ~ Anonymous

What do you see in the mirror?
How do you feel about it?
Do you avoid mirrors?
I did most of my life.
When I looked, I was the critic.
Do you like how you look?
Do you see a happy face?
A disgusting face?
Do you trust the face?
Would you prefer to avoid it?
Is the face happy?
Trusting? Accepting?
Do you trust yourself?
avoid your gaze?
What do you think?
Is it true for you
your mind is only as settled
as your food plan?
What attitude changes
do you owe the person
looking back at you?

Image Copyright : Элина Гаревская

Building a Wall

We’re building a wall, one brick at a time. Take a deep breath, this will take a while. ~ Author unknown

Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Nor is a strong program of Recovery!
There may be a honeymoon period
where things fall into place
and it feels right, but until
the the steps are worked
and the tools are a natural part
of every day, there remain many bricks
to put in place and as years pass
Recovery thrives and and the wall grows,
a wall to stand the test of time.
a wall to last a lifetime.

AImage Copyright : Bogdan Mircea Hoda

Living Life

I couldn’t imagine that recovery could hurt more than the torment of compulsive overeating, so I tried it. In the past decade, I’ve experienced major ups and downs—job changes, deaths, relocations, heartache, and joy—in short, life. But regardless of my degree of discomfort or elation, I’ve stayed clear of that first bite. ~ Anonymous, Overeaters. Abstinence, Second Edition: Members of Overeaters Anonymous Share Their Experience, Strength and Hope Overeaters Anonymous. Kindle Edition.

I would not have described my life
as “the torment of compulsive overeating.”
Not while I was living that!
I’m not sure I felt that way.
Actually I know for a fact
my perception was that food was comfort.
Food was the solace for the turmoil.
What I needed was weight loss,
a body that would make life comfortable,
a body allowing me to cross my legs at knees,
not ankles. I disdained fat women,
attempted to live in denial
that I was one! I understand now
that I was sick, physically, emotionally,
and spiritually. And having found healing
in all three ways I am grateful to be freed
from the torment of compulsive overeating!

Image Copyright : Jason Stitt

That First Compulsive Bite

I am safe as long as I do not take the first compulsive bite. Abstinence is my security. If I break my abstinence, I lose my protection against the confusion, remorse, and pain of overeating. ~ L., Elisabeth. Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters (Hazelden Meditations Book 1) . Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition.

That first compulsive bite…
Abstinence really is my security.
I know it not just in my head
but all the way through!
I spent plenty of years, both before
finding OA and during 149 months
after getting here rooting for the truth
that abstinence is my recovery as well
as that abstinence is the most important
thing in my life without exception.
I’m finally there, though,
reading and listening to Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D.,
whose doctorate is in Brain and Cognitive Sciences,
and today I heard her explain how it finally works
that abstinence is the most important
thing in my life without exception!

The Pain Is in the Past

Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling with the mistaken belief that you cannot bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain; what you have not done is feel all you are beyond the pain. —Saint Bartholomew

Do you fear you cannot bear a dreaded pain?
Think about it. If you know what the pain is,
fear you will feel it, isn’t it true you know the pain,
have gone through it already but fail to realize
it’s a thing of the past, not the future. Stop,
examine the truth, and know you have
come through to the other side.
Understand the wonder of the truth
that you have emerged to the other side
and feel the relief, the joy? of reaching the other side,
of being on the other side.
Franklin Roosevelt spoke to fearful people
when he said at his first Inaugural address,
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
What are you afraid of? Have you already
faced the fear?

Image in public domain

Send Me

All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. Then too, I saw the wicked buried – those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless. ~ Ecclesiastes 8.9-10 (NIV)

“When in the course of human events
it becomes necessary….”*
Tough times bring out the best—
and the worst—
in us.
But wait a minute. Go back to the first,
to “When.” To The Teacher’s “a time.”
Simple words?
No. Not simple, not here.
When’s it when? Who told the
scared patriots in Philadelphia heat?
“With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

I’m scared now like they were then.
God, I feel like Isaiah. Woe is me.
But if you say so, here I am.
Send me.**

*US Declaration of Independence

**Isaiah Chapter 6

The Power of Working the Program

In the beginning I was scared to start, but now I’m scared to stop. And I couldn’t be more grateful. ~ Overeaters Anonymous. Taste of Lifeline. Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Kindle Edition.

It is scary, coming into OA…
so many other tries to find
that right-sized body elusive
through years of searching.
But this one is different,
not a weight-loss program,
attacking the body problems
while exacerbating the fear,
the inevitability of another
yo-yo disgrace. It’s scary,
coming into OA, hearing talk
of recovery (a word seldom heard
except as a physical effect
through the other attempts,
but now not physical only
but the stories heard of three kinds.
physical, emotional, and spiritual!
And as we move toward threefold recovery
we find it true!
Where once we were scared to start
now we’re scared to stop!
We want this thing called recovery
as in physical, emotional and spiritual.
We will keep coming back not only today
but as the days stretch into years!

Dare to step through the door
to promises fulfilled.

The Power of Silence

A seed grows with no sound but a tree falls with huge noise. Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet. This is the power of silence… Grow Silently. ~ Confucius

Is your home during this Covid-19 era
too silent or too loud? For me silence reigns…
except for the ubiquitous television
and the dogs campaigning to be out…
then in! The whirl of the fans,
the toilet that runs excessively,
the grandmother clock speaking up
by the quarter hour…
it certainly is silent compared
to homes not inhabited
by septuagenarians.
But is there room for the power of silence,
the awareness of the silently growing
power of creation?
Be still and be still and know that I am God.

Not Going to Happen!

The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us. ~ Billy Graham

A safety net: a net placed
to catch an acrobat
or similar performer
in case of a fall.
How much more likely is it
that God would provide
a safety net than that a circus would?
A whole universe more likely!
We as a society provide
a social safety net for the poor,
the struggling.
How much more likely is it
that God would provide
a safety net than society would?
The will of God
will not take us
where the grace of God
cannot sustain us!Thank God!

Image Copyright : Gabriel Petrescu

As They Ought to Be

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being! ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Love is a way of life.
Loving everybody,
especially when they attack you
is the way to transform the other
as well as a way to transform you.
To love when you are are approached
with aggression is to remake the world,
to do your part in the transformation
from a world of egos where fear reigns
to the real world, the one God made,
where peace and healing are the norm
and love reigns supreme.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joyO Divine Master, grant that I mayNot so much seek to be consoled as to consoleTo be understood, as to understandTo be loved, as to loveFor it is in giving that we receiveAnd it’s in pardoning that we are pardonedAnd it’s in dying that we are born to Eternal LifeAmen * 

*St. Francis of Assisi

Controlling Your Destint

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny. ~ Dr. Albert Ellis, psychologist

Who do you tend to blame?
The president? The Democrats?
The media? Your mother?
The Chinese? Yourself?
What would the world be like
if you were in control?
Are you? Could you be?
The best years of your life
are the ones in which you decide
your problems are your own.
Is it time? What are you going to do
about your problems?

God's Power Made Perfect in Weakness

8   …I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 New International Version (NIV)

Do I need to boast about my weakness?
Should I delight in weakness,
in insults, in hardships,
in persecutions, in difficulties?
Well, surprisingly, the answer is yes!
Paul said, “When I am weak,
then I am strong.” And he got there
because God told him, “My grace
is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Weakness I have in spades!
If Paul understood the message,
then I agree and happily say,
I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Lord, I believe. Help Thou
my unbelief!

Not Yet!!

My husband tells the dogs,  “Don’t look at her until she’s had her coffee and her prayer and meditation.” ~ DKP

Forget the dogs, even the husband!
I don’t normally drink coffee,
but Oh!, how I wishI could teach ME
to get out of bed earlier, not by hours,
but enough to establish a practice to pause
before feeding the dogs, preparing coffee
for the husband then proceeding
with oughts and shoulds and expectations
so I find myself at the end of the day
writing tomorrow’s poem, knowing
when I finish I’ve done it again,
and still lack a time of prayer
and meditation.

Salvador Dali

We Had to Binge

 We had to drink because times were hard or times were good. We had to drink because at home we were smothered with love or got none at all. We had to drink because at work we were great successes or dismal failures. We had to drink because our nation had won a war or lost a peace. And so it went, ad infinitum. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Pages 46-47

When I drank, it tended to be at annual intervals.
I was much more likely to drink in a foreign country!
But I can certainly identify with the feel of this passage.
For me it rings true with word substitution:
I had to binge because times were hard
or times were good. I had to binge
because at home I was smothered with love
or got none at all. I had to binge because at work
I was a great success or dismal failure.
I had to binge because our nation
had won a war or lost a peace.
And so it went, ad infinitum.
But now I have no need to binge
or to eat a tiny snack, I eat according to plan
day after day, meal after meal,
knowing the framework of each day’s consumption,
planned meals with nothing in between,
no snacks, not a bite, a lick or a taste.
I have no more pull to eat otherwise
than I have for a drink.
And the freedom inherent in that status
gives me happiness I wish I had discovered
so many decades, so many binges earlier!
I never need binge again. I have found peace!

Hold Me in Your Peace

Since no man knows the future,
who can tell him what is to come?
No man has power over the wind to contain it;
so no one has power over the day of his death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who
practice it. ~ Ecclesiastes 8:7-8(NIV)

Wickedness will not release.
How do you break free?
Only with the aid of a higher power.
The higher power can give you power.
Power over the wind to contain it?
Maybe.
Power over the day of your death?
Absolutely.
Not to change anything,
but to have serenity.
Power to be in the presence of peace.
Peace doesn’t release you, either.

God, hold me in your peace.
Let me always remember you’re
tougher than wickedness.

Be Still and Know

Let’s pretend for a spell that it’s okay to be idle. Let’s take this as an opportunity for a new way of living. With every thought that comes, let it float away. With every desire to speak, let the moment pass. Every movement can be forfeited. Feel the freedom of doing nothing, saying nothing, thinking nothing, for even a few moments. Peace does come. Peace at last. ~ Casey, Karen. Daily Meditations for Practicing the Course (Hazelden Meditations) . Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition.

At my house the “Shelter in Place”
means being idle for a while
is more than possible.
For others with a variety of ages
and interests represented “in place”
it may mean being idle and undisturbed
is a rarity and almost beyond imagination.
But if that’s the case how much more important
but let’s take this as an opportunity
for a new way of living.
An opportunity to let thoughts drift away.
Feel the freedom of doing nothing,
saying nothing, thinking nothing,
for even a few moments.
Peace does come. Peace at last.
Be still and know!

Image Copyright : lilkar

True Wisdom

In OA I have learned that being kind, meeting people where they are, listening without judgment, and trusting in an individual’s personal process are true wisdom. Each person I meet has a Higher Power, and it is not I. Kindness is a more powerful service than advice. ~ Overeaters Anonymous. Taste of Lifeline. Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Being kind,
meeting people where they are,
listening without judgment,
and trusting in an individual’s
personal process are true wisdom.
Each person I meet has a Higher Power,
and it is not I.
Kindness is a more powerful service
than advice.
How wise these words are…
how distant from the mindset
by which we lived our lives
before we found the Rooms
of Recovery.
My advice may be what I want to offer…
who wouldn’t want such wisdom?
No matter the value we perceive to be
our most valuable service,
surely it’s true that kindness
surpasses the comfort
we would hope to be received
packaged in our sage advice.

No Greater Privilege

There is surely no more exciting adventure, no greater privilege than to continue working this program of recovery. ~ Anonymous, Overeaters. For Today (Kindle Locations 128-129). Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Kindle Edition.

The first Recovery Daily Dose
appeared on May 4, 2011.
Counting leap years that’s
three thousand two hundred
eighty-nine days and this is
the three thousand two hundred
eighty-ninth edition. From
a simple decision to call attention
to A Cloud of Witnesses:
Two Big Books and Us,Barbara B. Rollins with OAStepper
began a string of daily doses
from home, office, home,
un-retired office,
two temporary homes,
Ireland, a variety of states,
hospital and rehab rooms,
no matter what day after day.
There is surely no more
exciting adventure,
no greater privilege
than to continue
working our program of recovery.
in this unique way!

The Reflection

I realized after seeing this building that the clouds are reflected in the building but it doesn’t make the building the clouds and not to get confused. People either look like a drug or they look like their higher power; that depends on what they reflect from the inside. And the reflection of yourself that you see in other people is not you. That’s you, through their filter. ~ Maureen Gibbons

When you look at a person
do you automatically…or at least often…
see the beauty? If we choose
seeing beauty it’s more likely
we’ll see it. If we think of the person
with a negative image…of the person
of of ourselves…we see ugly.
We see a drunk, a fat person, a shrew,
a bum. Let us choose to look
through the eyes of the Power Within,
through eyes of love, so that we see love,
beauty, goodness. May the Power
of the universe within you
color your whole world beautiful!

Photo by Maureen Gibbons

Like Gasoline for a Car

The First Step serves me as gasoline does an automobile: I draw regularly on the reservoir of acceptance of my powerlessness, but have to stop from time to time to fill up again on the insight that I will never save myself from the “bondage of self.” ~ Anonymous, Overeaters. Abstinence, Second Edition: Members of Overeaters Anonymous Share Their Experience, Strength and Hope, Overeaters Anonymous. Kindle Edition.

A reservoir of acceptance
of my powerlessness,
the ability to fill up the tank
with the insight I can never
rescue myself from the bondage of self?
I love the word picture and the value
inherent in this interpretation
of the usefulness of Step One,
1. We admitted we were powerless
over food — that our lives
had become unmanageable.
That I am, and I’ll enjoy that image
for a long time when I recite the Steps
as I pause for the image to grab the light!

Copyright: Savanno

Obey the King

Obey the kingʼs command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the kingʼs presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a kingʼs word is supreme, who can say to him,

“What are you doing?” Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a manʼs misery weighs heavily upon him. ~ Ecclesiastes 8:2-6

Who but the king would say this?
Who can say to him
“What’s that you’re up to?”
Somebody foolish.
Somebody brave.
Somebody unafraid of death.
Or worse.
Sometimes a statesman would,
a patriot,
a person who listens to God first
then dares to follow.

God, teach us to pick our fights
but to be willing to fight for you

Rollins, Barbara B. A Time for Verse – Poetic Ponderings on Ecclesiastes. Eagle Wings Press imprint of Silver Boomer Books. Kindle Edition.