Always to extend the hand and heart of OA
to all who share my compulsion;
for this I am responsible.
~ OA's Responsibility Pledge
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Inspiration
Acceptance
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation - some fact of my life - unacceptable to me and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my compulsive eating, I could not stay abstinent; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world, as to what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
- Adapted from "Acceptance was the Answer", Alcoholics Anonymous, page 417
The Promises
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.
- Reprinted from "Into Action", pages 83 - 84, Alcoholics Anonymous
I Put My Hand In Yours
I put my hand in yours and together we can do what we could never do alone!
No longer is there a sense of hopelessness,
no longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower.
We are all together now,
reaching out our hands for power and strength greater than ours,
and as we join hands,
we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams.
– The OA Promise, co-founder Rozanne S.
Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Third Step Prayer
God, I offer myself to thee - to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy will always.
From "How It Works", Alcoholics Anonymous, page 63
Seventh Step Prayer
My Creator, I am now willing that You should have all of me, good and bad.
I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my fellows.
Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do Your bidding.
- From "Into Action", Alcoholics Anonymous, page 76