Springing into Life
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
April 2026
"We gather together for one purpose only: to provide a wellspring of hope for the hopeless”
(ABA, pg. 172).
This month's theme, Springing into Life, is about the beautiful transformation that happens in recovery as we move towards our healing and freedom.
"We gather together for one purpose only: to provide a wellspring of hope for the hopeless” (ABA, pg. 172).
What a powerful quote within our beloved ABA text, which emphasizes just how much of our wellness relies on our continued connection with each other! It is vital that we have the opportunity to first experience the hope of recovery through other shared experiences. This same hope that we found in others then begins to grow within ourselves.
It is not easy to be "springing" when we have a disorder that thrives in isolation and apathy. Springing implies both a positive, energetic transformation and a call to action.
However, ABA keeps it simple and doable. In the beginning, we are not asked to do anything more than attend a meeting and listen. It is in this one baby step that an unconscious rearrangement within us starts to take place as we learn to identify with others. When we relate, a powerful bond and desire to continue reaching out for connection is created.
Many of us started simply by taking down a telephone number and texting someone whose number was offered for outreach. This sparked both excitement and fear. Our newfound openness and willingness to spring forth led us to be honest about our lives. Over time, this honesty paved the way for intimacy and led us down the path toward sanity. How incredibly lucky we are to live in a world today where it’s possible to connect through so many forms of technology!
Having had a spiritual awakening as the results of these Steps, in Step 12, “we tried to carry this message to others suffering from eating disorders” (ABA, pg. 133). "We who have recovered from anorexia and bulimia, who have been awakened from the enchanted sleep of our disease, know that this desire to pass to others what we have received springs unbidden from the depths of our inner being the moment we are restored to sanity" (ABA, pg. 134).
By springing forth, we can continue to nurture a life of abundance, one filled with love and opportunity. Let us spring forward together today- one smile, one step, one seed of hope, or one moment at a time.
We share Denise's sentiment found in her story on pg. 240 of our ABA book, “May your journey be, like mine, an adventure carrying you out of the pain to a new way of life better than you have ever dared to imagine.”
Personal Reflection: Springing to Life!
Springing to life feels exactly like what I'm experiencing right now. My journey in ABA has now lasted 20 months, and I can't describe it any other way than as springing to life. I feel like this awakening began six years ago when I started my first 12-Step program. It felt like more and more that who I am and what belongs to me was awakening within me. But before ABA , there was still a constant fog and inner isolation that kept me from implementing the things I felt deep inside that were right for me. ABA was the key that cleared that fog and finally opened the door properly.
It truly feels like I've been waking up so intensely over the last 20 months, and everything is suddenly coming alive in me. All my feelings have returned. Anger, in particular, has taken hold, often so intense and all-consuming that I had absolutely no idea how to deal with it. Now the anger is slowly subsiding because I've spent a lot of time with her and we’re gradually becoming friends. She's become a (mostly) accepted guest. But in recent months, grief and profound sorrow have begun to visit me regularly. We're still in the process of getting to know each other and finding common ground. At the same time, an irrepressible desire for life has also taken hold, spreading to every aspect of my life. During the five years before this, I drifted along stuck half-awake, half-asleep, in the 12-Step program, not really living, but not truly awake either. I had truly withdrawn from reality for five years, trying to heal myself before returning to normal life. Over these five years, my desire for life kept knocking at the door, and I felt my anger telling me that what I was doing wasn't quite right. But I was far too afraid to act on it. In my anorexic mindset, I have to be in control before I let go of anything and enjoy.
Last year, this exploded, and my desire for life often called upon my anger to help me finally get out and have fun. Yes, there, my anger proved to be one of my strongest companions. Because it told me very clearly that we were absolutely fed up with just sitting at home and meditating until we eventually become enlightened.
My anger loves “surrender to participate.” Although it was extremely difficult for me to let go of movement, it helped me to connect so deeply with nature, to do pottery, to sing, to learn guitar, and to
finally be able to sit still while on the phone. Four months ago, I started studying what I've always wanted and love, and it has been very fulfilling. I've learned that I'm much more likely to connect with my Higher Power when I do things that evoke joy and vitality within me, than just in a calm and meditative state, which I now actually often experience as in control and disconnected. I'm learning more and more to follow joy, because it always connects me with myself, with others, and with my Higher Power. When my mind becomes rigid and I think I have to try so hard at everything, that's not my Higher Power.
I've learned to watch tv, to play in the garden, to read children's books, to be uninhibitedly silly with my classmates, and to eat pasta every day. To give myself breaks, to allow myself to spend money on massages, and that the only thing that matters is what I and God think of me, not everyone else. My God is a loving, creative goddess who has planned a future for me so vibrant and colorful that my eating disorder can't even bear it.
And I'm also learning to flirt now. A year ago, after ten years, I got my period back, and with it, my libido. And wow, there are few things my old self finds more frightening than realizing that I'm a sexual being, and that intimacy and sex are fundamental human needs, and that I am allowed to follow them.
Everything is incredibly intense right now, and I truly feel reborn, experiencing all of this for the very first time. And like a newborn, I need to sleep 11 hours a day and am often completely overwhelmed by all the experiences because everything is awakening at once. The desire to fully savor life, to try everything, and years of suppressed grief, anger, and void. But now the joy is getting more present than the fear. Because every part of my body and soul is coming to life. The iceberg inside me is melting and softening. My body, and my soul as well. It's so exciting and beautiful to spring into this life!
-Tina
Springing into Action with the AGM
(Annual General Meeting)
A theme emerged from the President's report... We can do this all together!
We had 20 people attend, with several new ABA members checking out the Annual General Meeting for the first time.
Welcomes
Welcome Brian, Mike and Sandy
Welcome back Amy, Amanda, Alison, Con, Jessa and Tim
Welcome back for a 2nd Term Kelly, Kathryn, and Peter
Welcome back to our Executive Committee Amy, Kathryn and Kelly
Welcome back to our Auditors Con and Tim
Good-bye and Thank You to Joan
Our Board
We now have 12 individuals sitting on the board, gratefully comprising 4 non-ABA members and 8 ABA members. This board has many years of 12-Step experience, relevant education, skills, and aptitudes. Many of our board members are becoming very active in service positions and joining our committees, ensuring continuity with the GSA and our fellowship, maximizing how we carry out our 5th and 7th traditions.
Committee Highlights & Goals
for the Year
Treasurer
Reports show we are in the positive, meaning above our prudent reserve!
GSR
They have been meeting together and maintaining contact with the head office, the Board, and the groups.
Retreat
This committee is coordinating the Sept. 2026, 4-day gathering. There will be 34 spots available for boarders, as well as day passes for participants.
Literature
This committee has overseen the publishing of our Meditation Book and an audio recording for Parts 1, 2, and 3 of our ABA text. They have uploaded over 100 episodes of members sharing their experience, strength, and hope to the Spotify Podcast: Eating Disorder Recovery. A print edition of the Spanish translation is beginning. Communication and awareness of new and existing materials inside and outside our Fellowship have increased.
Website
This now robust committee is highly active in the new design of our website. The website committee is reviewing the stats, and they are impressive- truly we are of global interest!
We want to do a big shout out to Kheri, THANK YOU!
We need all eyes on board. If you see any errors with the website, contact Ashley +1 343-575-4364 on WhatsApp
Personnel
This committee is coming to life and beginning to gel. They have taken on the task of completing the service manual. This manual will support all facets of ABA, providing clear processes to support the office headquarters and our Fellowship-wide services.
Self Support
This committee has raised nearly $2,000.00 CAD and is collaborating better than ever with the Fellowship. They are receiving submissions for the newsletter from various committees and individual members. They will continue to pursue broader engagement from all members, both new and longstanding, by offering more opportunities for all to share their voice.
Public Information
This committee has reviewed and edited a document intended to support new members participating in committee meetings. As this committee experiences revitalization, they are re-establishing their direction and exploring various potential initiatives. These include developing a strategy for Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2027, distributing informational pamphlets through community “little libraries,” and engaging with the Journalist Recovery Network and the Dump the Scales Campaign.
Additionally, they are seeking allies within the GSA and our fellowship who maintain connections to the medical and journalism communities. The aim will be to use these avenues to focus our efforts on the most impactful strategies to share ABA.
A Spring in our Step
“The light in our eyes when we have recovered from anorexia and bulimia; the softness in our voices as we give credit to the Power to whom it is due; the spring in our step when we are unburdened of all that kept us sick; the easy stance of our bodies that results from true self-love; the laughter that bubbles out of us as we see through new eyes the humor in our crazy thinking and behavior; the warmth in our properly nourished bodies when we hug one another—these things cannot be hidden and serve as powerful testimony to others that authentic recovery is indeed possible. Instead of vibrating masses of human cells, we are now still and comfortable in our own skin, and others notice” (ABA pg. 154).
Upcoming Events
Retreat Countdown- 5 months to go!
Upcoming Meetings
Birthdays
Reece, 3 Years
Amy, 15 Years
Celebrating on March 31st at the
Tuesday Peaceful Easy Feeling Group
9:30 pm EST
Zoom ID: 386 813 6898 PW: 866 994
Sponsorship
Logan, USA Eirinie, UK
+1 334 451 2488 +44 7590-281-813
Soula, CAN PST Lizzie, UK
+1 250 857-6852 +44 770-778-8188
Maryam, USA
+1 (626) 437-6657
Spring Forth!
We appreciate your questions, concerns, and ideas to help the newsletter best carry out our 5th and 7th traditions! Contact jessaatheart@gmail.com.
From page 145 of our ABA Book:
5th Tradition:
"Each group has but one primary purpose- to carry its message to the anorexic or bulimic who still suffers."
7th Tradition:
"Every ABA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
