Monday, August 28, 2006
A.A.: How It Works: Alcohol(ISM)
"The principles we have set down are guides to progress."
"... three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought."
Alcoholics Anonymous
How it Works
Page 60
When I first admitted that I thought I might have a drinking problem, it was a step in the right direction -- not quite the same as AA's First Step, but it was progress. My admission was tentative and filled with conniving for an easy solution. I hadn't yet accepted that alcohol had beaten me -- only that it threw some pretty good punches.
I honestly don't remember exactly how, but one of the consequences of my admission was that I received some information about Alcoholics Anonymous. I read it and thought that I surely better straighten up or else I might end up like those folks. I wasn't ready to accept that I was an alcoholic and that my life was out of control. I wasn't ready to accept the help that the program offered. I was too afraid to admit I needed it and too proud to admit that I wanted it.
I continued to drink, knowing that I had a problem and continued to amass guilt and shame. Until finally, I couldn't take the pain -- I hit rock bottom. I felt like a worthless human being, a complete failure, like I'd let down, disgraced, and disgusted everyone that had ever cared about me -- I didn't even resent them any more. I just didn't care. At that point, my will was broken. I was defeated, powerless. And I was open to the idea of living differently. I was willing to be a passenger and let someone else do the driving.
And so, for me, without even realizing it at the time, I had taken the first Step of Alcoholics Anonymous. By God's Grace, perhaps prepared by my prior exposure to the 12-Steps, I intuitively knew what to do next. I picked up the phone and called a friend who introduced me to the AA program.
Because of the miracles that God, through AA, has worked in my life, I don't still have those feelings of helplessness and desperation. That is exactly why it is important for me to remember them and accept my alcoholism on a daily basis. Remember, it's alcohol(ISM), not alcohol(WASM).
www.sponsornet.com/12steps.html
Get the latest edition of:
Alcoholics Anonymous
AA Services
aa addiction alcoholism recovery sponsornet substance abuse
"... three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought."
Alcoholics Anonymous
How it Works
Page 60
When I first admitted that I thought I might have a drinking problem, it was a step in the right direction -- not quite the same as AA's First Step, but it was progress. My admission was tentative and filled with conniving for an easy solution. I hadn't yet accepted that alcohol had beaten me -- only that it threw some pretty good punches.
I honestly don't remember exactly how, but one of the consequences of my admission was that I received some information about Alcoholics Anonymous. I read it and thought that I surely better straighten up or else I might end up like those folks. I wasn't ready to accept that I was an alcoholic and that my life was out of control. I wasn't ready to accept the help that the program offered. I was too afraid to admit I needed it and too proud to admit that I wanted it.
I continued to drink, knowing that I had a problem and continued to amass guilt and shame. Until finally, I couldn't take the pain -- I hit rock bottom. I felt like a worthless human being, a complete failure, like I'd let down, disgraced, and disgusted everyone that had ever cared about me -- I didn't even resent them any more. I just didn't care. At that point, my will was broken. I was defeated, powerless. And I was open to the idea of living differently. I was willing to be a passenger and let someone else do the driving.
And so, for me, without even realizing it at the time, I had taken the first Step of Alcoholics Anonymous. By God's Grace, perhaps prepared by my prior exposure to the 12-Steps, I intuitively knew what to do next. I picked up the phone and called a friend who introduced me to the AA program.
Because of the miracles that God, through AA, has worked in my life, I don't still have those feelings of helplessness and desperation. That is exactly why it is important for me to remember them and accept my alcoholism on a daily basis. Remember, it's alcohol(ISM), not alcohol(WASM).
www.sponsornet.com/12steps.html
Get the latest edition of:
Alcoholics Anonymous
AA Services
aa addiction alcoholism recovery sponsornet substance abuse
# posted by Bill B. @ 8:46 AM 
