Excess Baggage

Many of us come to OA carrying the excess baggage of shame and pride. We are ashamed that we’ve been unable to control our eating by ourselves, and yet we’re too proud to admit that we need help with our eating and our lives. In order to recover, we have to let go of shame and pride and actively reach out to others for help. As we practice anonymity, we begin this process of letting go. ~ Overeaters Anonymous. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition (p. 164). Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Kindle Edition.

Shame and pride, awful or awesome,
a surprising pairing.
But a pair we’re accustomed to
when we find Recovery!
We cannot stand ourselves
but want you to know
we’re worthy, respectable.
But we need neither.
We need to live as we want to be seen,
to become the people we always wanted to become!