“Putting our thoughts and feelings down on paper helps us to better understand our actions and reactions in a way that is often not revealed to us by simply thinking or talking about them.”
The Tools of Recovery (Abridged)
I’ve been around the rooms of OA for a long time, almost thirty-seven years as I write this. For my first ten years, I was pretty sure my use of the Tool of writing was being fulfilled by my Step work writing, especially a couple of very long Fourth Steps, and my nightly Tenth Step, and the occasional assignments to write on a resentment or a fear or whatever else popped up that was keeping me anxious and edgy. That’s enough writing, right? Or so I thought.
But then I finally found a Power greater than myself that clicked (she’s vaguely female and I call her HP and she is kind and loving and non-judgmental), and I began to occasionally communicate with her by writing her a letter. Why? I don’t remember. Perhaps I heard it suggested in the rooms or my HP sent me a message to drop her a line.
Over the years, the letters increased, and what was more, HP began to answer them. Seriously.
A kind of dialogue developed between us. I would write something that was on my mind and she would answer me, and then I would go on writing and again she would answer me. And when I tell you that it was not me who was answering me, I mean it. I write on the computer and I write fast, but every time HP wrote back, it was slow and thoughtful and always—I mean always—exactly what I needed to hear. And what came from my writing often totally surprised me. I discovered deeper feelings and insights than I was consciously aware of: a new understanding of a sticky situation, a different take on someone I disliked, an awareness of when a character defect had popped up that I hadn’t caught.
As The OA Tools of Recovery (Abridged) states: “Putting our thoughts and feelings down on paper helps us to better understand our actions and reactions in a way that is often not revealed to us by simply thinking or talking about them.” Today, I write HP every single morning, and if I happen to skip this practice, I feel hollow inside. Writing is a fine and helpful and even life-changing tool. Try it sometime! You’ll be surprised what you find out.
—Diane, Washington, DC USA
