Step by Step
Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013
"If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshaled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.
"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 4 ("We Agnostics"), pp 44-5.
Today, let me not link my alcoholism to some moral failure on my part or a philosophy that did not apply to me and, instead, take it for what it is: a physical, emotional, and spiritual disease of my character. While I should not and cannot be "blamed" for becoming alcoholic, I can and should be responsible for arresting its progression. To this end, I must completely accept the First Step of absolute powerlessness over alcohol and, then, at least coming to believe in something - a Power - greater and stronger than myself. If I still grapple with this concept, however, perhaps my power can be my own experience of predictable behavior and outcomes, most of which carried increasingly heavier consequences. Today, I am an alcoholic not because of a moral or philosophical failure on my part, but because of a disease. It cannot be cured, but it can be arrested. The Program's first two Steps are my beginning. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013
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