The reason I can do what I do everyday is because I get a boatload of support from other people like me, people who identify themselves as food addicts. Men, women, young, old, black, white, people from all walks of life who have determined that flour and sugar ruled their world and that there had to be a better way. Well there is definitely a better way and that way is together.
Next month, I will have one year of back-to-back abstinence. That’s one whole year without flour or sugar. Of course that one-year was built one day at a time and it will continue beyond the 365-day mark by living one day at a time too. I claim little credit for these 300+ days instead I give credit where credit is due and that’s to my higher power, and most especially to the people in my life who support and accept what I do as the best thing for me now.
From family and friends to coworkers and people who read this blog . . .you all give me strength. Some of you are aware of the strength you give me, others are not, but regardless I gladly accept the energy I get from others every single day because it makes what I do that much easier. And here’s the reason why: while at home during the holidays I went shopping with my sister, and in one store, where they sold items from local artists, I came across the most beautiful wood-crafted wall hanging and the words expressed exactly the sentiment I’m attempting to express in this week’s post, so on the piece these words were etched, “An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break. May you be open to each thread that comes into your life-the golden ones and the coarse ones –and may you weave them into a brilliant and beautiful life.”
The golden ones and the course ones—I love those words in particular because it means that EVERYONE we interact with has a purpose in our life, and more importantly, I’d like to think it means we are all connected by a power greater than ourselves. These words meant so much to me that I took a picture of them, and I read the words often to remind me how blessed I am to have so many golden threads in my life. People who keep this food addict honest and accountable for the choices I make everyday. People like my sponsor who helps to point out what lies ahead because she’s slightly ahead of me on the path to recovery. She also reassures me when I’m about to make a good decision and dissuades me when I’m on the verge of making a bad one. Beyond the love, support and strength I get from my sponsor, I have many, many fellows who walk the 12 steps of recovery with me. I’m so fortunate that during any given week I can see up to 100 other food addicts like me in the three meetings I attend and I’m even more lucky that I can call and talk to any of them about anything in the world—food related or not—and they get me. They know where I’m coming from and when my program isn’t as good as it should or could be. They know and understand my struggles, and my triumphs, in recovery. It’s these threads that make what I do so much more than a diet; it makes what I do a spiritual and emotional experience that I never got from all those other times I tried (and failed) to lose weight. I always, always thought I could do it myself, that it was all about willpower and if I failed it was because I didn’t have the strength or resolve to do it. Why I love what I do today is that it forces me out of my comfort zone—isolation—and it forces me to interact and gain strength from other food addicts—together we hold each up and cheer each other on. With them and my higher power I know what I do is possible. So if you are struggling with your New Year’s Resolution (it’s week three of the new year and this is usually where people start to falter) get yourself some friends to support you, but not just any friends, get some friends that are in the same boat as you, so they can understand why what you are doing is so difficult. There are many, many things I have learned from my three years in recovery and probably one of the most important lessons is that food addiction is not a disease you can recover from alone you need those “threads” in your life (the golden ones and the course ones) so you can continue to weave a beautiful brilliant life!
Moreaholic Confessions 
Jan 22, 2012 @ 17:38:35
Susan, You continue to be a deep inspiration to so many. Just reading your blogs each week reminds me of the incredible importance of how each of the small steps we take each day in support of changing our lives in ways that actually create more Life for us and how the opposite is also true. When we take those steps in the other direction, we are truly committing a form of suicide – self-destructive, death-causing behaviors. Thank you so much.