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MFBA 12 Step Recovery Program
Step 1 of MFBA
“We admitted we were powerless over buying more fish—that our lives had become unmanageable.”
Admitting one’s struggle with fish buying use can be challenging, but once they do acknowledge their struggle, the recovery process can begin. Of course, it helps to have someone nagging at you at the same time, you know, like a significant other, mom or dad, your kids—if you can still afford them by this time. Feel free to ask your neighbor to castigate you every time buying fish is mentioned.
“Came to believe that a power greater (GPF) than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
More Fish Buying Anonymous believes that people struggling with fish buying use can benefit from believing in a power greater than themselves (GPF) to recover. Those working the 12 steps of MFBA are free to choose whatever higher power (GPF) works for them, including pizza and beer. Wine for those with discerning tastes and soda pop for those on the wagon. See if your neighbor who regularly frowns at all the pond stuff will fund this higher power (GPF) for you. Can’t hurt to ask.
Step 3 of MFBA
“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of GPF as we understood GPF.”
In the 3rd step of MFBA, a person consciously decides to turn their will over to a higher power of their understanding, or to the learned vetted members of the forum. Generous donations accepted by either the OTG or the Michigan subchapter. All charity will be verified by current Treasurer. I believe it’s brokensword’s turn this month…
“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
This step requires self-examination that can be uncomfortable. Honesty about how a person’s struggle has affected themselves and others is necessary for helping maintain recovery. And here’s where generous portions of libations comes into effect; the more the merrier and step 4 will be a cinch! That said, you may have to stop looking at the fish auctions while you pour one back.
“Admitted to GPF, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”
This step involves admitting to past poor behavior, which may involves sharing with their fellow significant other, mom or dad, and/or a group like GPF’s OTG. Get into the details, let others know the type fish you continue buying, it’s size, the color(s), how well they’ll compliment what you have in the pond already. Stuff like that.
“Were entirely ready to have GPF remove all these defects of character.”
The fishaholic admits that they are ready to have their higher power remove the wrongs they listed in Step 4. The OTG is especially adept at this, so feel free to call on their experience. Defects can include not knowing how deep your pond is, the fact you never heard of a bog filter, saying stuff like ‘here fishy fishy’, continually losing the corkscrew or bottle cap opener, and thinking your waterfall will be too loud for the neighbors; TOO LOUD FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS!!! (can’t believe I just wrote that without laughing out loud! Neighbors? Who cares about neighbors—you got a WATERFALL in your yard!! Jus’ sayin’!)
“Humbly asked GPF to remove our shortcomings.”
Step 7 of the 12 steps of MFBA is about humility. When a person is humble, they have the opportunity to gain new perspectives that support their recovery journey and avoid nature centers with ponds, pet stores with aquariums, and neighbor’s ponds you’ve had your eye on for quite some time! And that envy is what’s gonna get ya, so stop! There’s PLENTY of auctions out there, PLENTY of pond centers where they’ll be glad to take your money and in return hand over a prized fish they just…oh, oh, losing it now—got to get back on the recovery program…must resist, must resist…
“Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.”
In this step, a person writes down all of the fish they have wronged through their buying. This is not a step to make amends, but to help a person understand what they are ready to make amends for in step 9. Of course, overfeeding is NOT one of these amends! And have we talked bog filter yet?
“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure themselves or others.”
Many fishaholics work with the OTG to figure out the best way to complete this step. Making amends could include re-homing all those fish you just KNEW you had to have. For some people, making amends is simple netting of favorite fish and sharing with a GPF member if it is not possible or safe to share with the whole forum directly. Don’t even consider how much it’s gonna cost you to air mail that bag of water filled with all those colorful fish you so painstakingly purchased through all those years…sigh, okay, yeah; mail ‘em on out, g’wan, just get rid of your babies…see if I care…
“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”
This step helps teach a person to remain committed to their re-homing program regardless of how many gallons in the pond. Using the 12 steps of MFBA and the practice of taking personal inventory helps keep people present in their recovery process, not to mention supporting the local pizzeria and liquor store. You know, one might conclude that to be part of this MFBA, it might be a good idea to sign up for your local AA, too. Possibly. I’m not sure. Seems like it would help. Oh, crap, I think I may be flunking this whole recovery program altogether. Must. Get. Help.
“Sought through wishful thinking and anxious sweat to improve our conscious contact with GPF, as we understood GPF, praying only for knowledge of GPF’s will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Step 11 involves creating some kind of denial practice or routine that helps a person stay connected to their higher power (GPF) to support their recovery. This denial can take the form of helping newbies on the forum get more fish for THEIR pond, instead of yours. Feel free to suggest the largest and fastest growing varieties. Make sure they’ll be seated next to you at the MFBA meeting as quickly as possible. Live vicariously through others’ ponds! The shared delusions will keep you going.
“Having had a renewal of wallet as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to fishaholics, and to practice these principles with everyone else’s ponds.”
This step encourages members to help others in their recovery. Some members may choose to guide others as a way to help them buy more fish themselves and share their message as they continue to work the 12 steps of MFBA.
Naww, what a bunch of horse hooey; g’wan, hit the interwebs! Jump in the car and go visit your local nature center, ogle the ponds they’ve set up and you wish yours looked like. Take as much time as you can drooling over that fancy finned obstacle to Nirvana. Salivate over all the colors and shapes, take note of EVERY variety you DON’T have now…and then, start grinning—you got the POWER! USE IT! STEP (hell, take 12 of ‘em—you’ve earned it for reading this far!!) up to the counter, wallet/purse open, the ticket to your dream just moments away…Tell ‘em you need the 50# bag of fish food, no more piddling 5 pounders! Start tacking up posters on local poles and shops, extolling the virtue of DONATING their fish to YOU, to your POND…give out your phone number and address to anyone who’ll listen—ESPECIALLY to online forums—let them know you have lots and lots and LOTS of room for MORE and MORE and MORE FISH…oh, the delicious ecstasy! Tell them…LET’S GO PONDING!!! Round up the family, grab the car, ignore that neighbor, get out and
(producer’s editorial note) we’re sorry, we’ve taken back control of this self-help document that IS intended to help all those with delusions of grandeur. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and mis-information that might have been propagated from this missive. If we knew this was going to happen, we’d have shut it down immediately. Truly, mgt is regretful of the whole fiasco. Hopefully the proprietors of said higher power (GPF) won’t look askance at this effort to ‘help’ and instead, forgive this moment of lunacy.
And don’t worry; we’ve taken steps (didn’t need 12 this time) to secure this kind of blatant idiocy won’t happen again. For those wondering, don’t worry either about brokensword; we got him set up in the ‘home’, a nice comfortable zero-gravity chair parked next to our big, clear, picture window that overlooks our center’s local pond. He can look at it, but no way can he get to it. And we’ve cut his internet feed, stopped his cc, told the liquor store to deliver only once a week, and given him a flash drive of all the fish he’s every bought in a slide show that plays on a loop. He seems happy. We’re not sure because every time we check on him, he stops grinning and feigns a dopey look that makes us a bit suspicious. There might need to be more therapy but we’re at a loss to figure out exactly which kind at the moment. If any readers, having made it this far, have any suggestions, please contact us at;
MFBA
42 Pondhouse Way
Dreampond Hills, Mi
48001
USA
ph # 1-STO-PBUYING or 1-786-728-9464
all donations cheerfully accepted.
Remember, you can DO it! YOU can STOP BUYING MORE FISH!
Thank you.
MFBA mgt
Step 1 of MFBA
“We admitted we were powerless over buying more fish—that our lives had become unmanageable.”
Admitting one’s struggle with fish buying use can be challenging, but once they do acknowledge their struggle, the recovery process can begin. Of course, it helps to have someone nagging at you at the same time, you know, like a significant other, mom or dad, your kids—if you can still afford them by this time. Feel free to ask your neighbor to castigate you every time buying fish is mentioned.
“Came to believe that a power greater (GPF) than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
More Fish Buying Anonymous believes that people struggling with fish buying use can benefit from believing in a power greater than themselves (GPF) to recover. Those working the 12 steps of MFBA are free to choose whatever higher power (GPF) works for them, including pizza and beer. Wine for those with discerning tastes and soda pop for those on the wagon. See if your neighbor who regularly frowns at all the pond stuff will fund this higher power (GPF) for you. Can’t hurt to ask.
Step 3 of MFBA
“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of GPF as we understood GPF.”
In the 3rd step of MFBA, a person consciously decides to turn their will over to a higher power of their understanding, or to the learned vetted members of the forum. Generous donations accepted by either the OTG or the Michigan subchapter. All charity will be verified by current Treasurer. I believe it’s brokensword’s turn this month…
“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
This step requires self-examination that can be uncomfortable. Honesty about how a person’s struggle has affected themselves and others is necessary for helping maintain recovery. And here’s where generous portions of libations comes into effect; the more the merrier and step 4 will be a cinch! That said, you may have to stop looking at the fish auctions while you pour one back.
“Admitted to GPF, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”
This step involves admitting to past poor behavior, which may involves sharing with their fellow significant other, mom or dad, and/or a group like GPF’s OTG. Get into the details, let others know the type fish you continue buying, it’s size, the color(s), how well they’ll compliment what you have in the pond already. Stuff like that.
“Were entirely ready to have GPF remove all these defects of character.”
The fishaholic admits that they are ready to have their higher power remove the wrongs they listed in Step 4. The OTG is especially adept at this, so feel free to call on their experience. Defects can include not knowing how deep your pond is, the fact you never heard of a bog filter, saying stuff like ‘here fishy fishy’, continually losing the corkscrew or bottle cap opener, and thinking your waterfall will be too loud for the neighbors; TOO LOUD FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS!!! (can’t believe I just wrote that without laughing out loud! Neighbors? Who cares about neighbors—you got a WATERFALL in your yard!! Jus’ sayin’!)
“Humbly asked GPF to remove our shortcomings.”
Step 7 of the 12 steps of MFBA is about humility. When a person is humble, they have the opportunity to gain new perspectives that support their recovery journey and avoid nature centers with ponds, pet stores with aquariums, and neighbor’s ponds you’ve had your eye on for quite some time! And that envy is what’s gonna get ya, so stop! There’s PLENTY of auctions out there, PLENTY of pond centers where they’ll be glad to take your money and in return hand over a prized fish they just…oh, oh, losing it now—got to get back on the recovery program…must resist, must resist…
“Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.”
In this step, a person writes down all of the fish they have wronged through their buying. This is not a step to make amends, but to help a person understand what they are ready to make amends for in step 9. Of course, overfeeding is NOT one of these amends! And have we talked bog filter yet?
“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure themselves or others.”
Many fishaholics work with the OTG to figure out the best way to complete this step. Making amends could include re-homing all those fish you just KNEW you had to have. For some people, making amends is simple netting of favorite fish and sharing with a GPF member if it is not possible or safe to share with the whole forum directly. Don’t even consider how much it’s gonna cost you to air mail that bag of water filled with all those colorful fish you so painstakingly purchased through all those years…sigh, okay, yeah; mail ‘em on out, g’wan, just get rid of your babies…see if I care…
“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”
This step helps teach a person to remain committed to their re-homing program regardless of how many gallons in the pond. Using the 12 steps of MFBA and the practice of taking personal inventory helps keep people present in their recovery process, not to mention supporting the local pizzeria and liquor store. You know, one might conclude that to be part of this MFBA, it might be a good idea to sign up for your local AA, too. Possibly. I’m not sure. Seems like it would help. Oh, crap, I think I may be flunking this whole recovery program altogether. Must. Get. Help.
“Sought through wishful thinking and anxious sweat to improve our conscious contact with GPF, as we understood GPF, praying only for knowledge of GPF’s will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Step 11 involves creating some kind of denial practice or routine that helps a person stay connected to their higher power (GPF) to support their recovery. This denial can take the form of helping newbies on the forum get more fish for THEIR pond, instead of yours. Feel free to suggest the largest and fastest growing varieties. Make sure they’ll be seated next to you at the MFBA meeting as quickly as possible. Live vicariously through others’ ponds! The shared delusions will keep you going.
“Having had a renewal of wallet as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to fishaholics, and to practice these principles with everyone else’s ponds.”
This step encourages members to help others in their recovery. Some members may choose to guide others as a way to help them buy more fish themselves and share their message as they continue to work the 12 steps of MFBA.
Naww, what a bunch of horse hooey; g’wan, hit the interwebs! Jump in the car and go visit your local nature center, ogle the ponds they’ve set up and you wish yours looked like. Take as much time as you can drooling over that fancy finned obstacle to Nirvana. Salivate over all the colors and shapes, take note of EVERY variety you DON’T have now…and then, start grinning—you got the POWER! USE IT! STEP (hell, take 12 of ‘em—you’ve earned it for reading this far!!) up to the counter, wallet/purse open, the ticket to your dream just moments away…Tell ‘em you need the 50# bag of fish food, no more piddling 5 pounders! Start tacking up posters on local poles and shops, extolling the virtue of DONATING their fish to YOU, to your POND…give out your phone number and address to anyone who’ll listen—ESPECIALLY to online forums—let them know you have lots and lots and LOTS of room for MORE and MORE and MORE FISH…oh, the delicious ecstasy! Tell them…LET’S GO PONDING!!! Round up the family, grab the car, ignore that neighbor, get out and
(producer’s editorial note) we’re sorry, we’ve taken back control of this self-help document that IS intended to help all those with delusions of grandeur. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and mis-information that might have been propagated from this missive. If we knew this was going to happen, we’d have shut it down immediately. Truly, mgt is regretful of the whole fiasco. Hopefully the proprietors of said higher power (GPF) won’t look askance at this effort to ‘help’ and instead, forgive this moment of lunacy.
And don’t worry; we’ve taken steps (didn’t need 12 this time) to secure this kind of blatant idiocy won’t happen again. For those wondering, don’t worry either about brokensword; we got him set up in the ‘home’, a nice comfortable zero-gravity chair parked next to our big, clear, picture window that overlooks our center’s local pond. He can look at it, but no way can he get to it. And we’ve cut his internet feed, stopped his cc, told the liquor store to deliver only once a week, and given him a flash drive of all the fish he’s every bought in a slide show that plays on a loop. He seems happy. We’re not sure because every time we check on him, he stops grinning and feigns a dopey look that makes us a bit suspicious. There might need to be more therapy but we’re at a loss to figure out exactly which kind at the moment. If any readers, having made it this far, have any suggestions, please contact us at;
MFBA
42 Pondhouse Way
Dreampond Hills, Mi
48001
USA
ph # 1-STO-PBUYING or 1-786-728-9464
all donations cheerfully accepted.
Remember, you can DO it! YOU can STOP BUYING MORE FISH!
Thank you.
MFBA mgt
