For many of us our disease is one of isolation. It wants us to stay home on the couch with our food at the ready. But we must not give in to that desire if we wish to recover from compulsive eating. One powerful weapon in our arsenal is participation. Participate by working all the steps, participate by working the tools, participate by giving service, and participate by attending events. All of these methods of participation require fellowship with others. We cannot do any of these things without some degree of reliance upon one another – thus ending our isolation. Participation gives life to our recovery – isolation only strengthens the disease.
The pandemic has given us all the most urgent and understandable reason to isolate. It has affected all of us to one degree or another and in many cases it gave great strength to the isolating aspect of our overeating compulsions. But we found a way to get beyond it through our online meetings and phone calls. Our fellowship continued to be there for those of us who participated in it.
Looking back on these last 2 years of the pandemic from my perspective, I can see that despite the survival of our fellowship, there have been some casualties. Attendance at many meetings is down even though they are conveniently online. Representation at the intergroup level is incomplete and many of the board positions and committee chair positions go unfilled. Attendance at special events – both online and at the recent in-person Fellowship Hike had less than a handful of participants.
Is isolation winning this battle? Only my Higher Power and I can decide the answer to this question for myself. This fellowship honors autonomy. No one can tell me that I must participate in order to continue my membership, but that fellowship cannot survive without members who are willing to do service for others. Service at the individual level (do I sponsor, do I attend meetings regularly?), at the meeting level (do I volunteer to do service at my home meeting?), at the intergroup level (have I ever attended an intergroup meeting or volunteered to be my home meeting’s delegate?), and even beyond (service positions at the Intergroup, Region and World Service levels are not made up of the ‘elite’ – they are members of the fellowship just like me).
Do I attend special events sponsored by my Intergroup, or Region 2, or World Service either online or in-person? The purpose of these events is to be of service to our fellowship, providing conferences and gatherings where I can interact with fellows outside my meeting groups and grow in knowledge and inspiration from broader sources of the fellowship.
Individual members can let an Intergroup representative know what type of special events they would attend so that events can be planned which help to meet their needs. Help spread the word about events in your area to increase participation. Your presence at an event or a meeting is in itself service to others as much as it is a benefit for your own recovery. Your encouragement of another to participate helps that person get out of their isolation too.
As the world is beginning to emerge from the isolation of the pandemic, I urge you to choose participation over isolation whenever it is possible for you. There are many online options if your individual needs still require that you stay home. Explore participating in something slightly beyond your comfort zone. Raise your hand at your next opportunity to do service. The fellowship – and your personal recovery depend upon your willingness to participate.
- M D
