Just for Today
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010
" ...(O)ur problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a symbol." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 7 ("Working With Others"), p 103.
Just for today, if alcohol is or was "only a symbol" or a symptom of some other "dis-ease" within myself, abstinence alone is not enough: if it were, there would be use for the 12 Steps. But they were defined with a purpose, and the purpose is to treat my entire being and not only the symptom that drinking became to treat the root problem. And, most likely, the root problem is my spiritual and emotional condition that I medicated with alcohol. Just as likely is that if I apply the band-aid of abstinence without treating the wound, the band-aid, like it also does, will lose its adhesiveness, and all my fight against temptation or craving will be for naught. The Steps are the treatment of the dis-ease: the Fourth Step to come to terms with the brokeness of my emotional and spiritual psyche and regular maintenance of that Step with the 10tgh; forgiving others if I expect them to forgive me; and, just as vital, service to others so that I not again become the focus of my world. Today, I look to the Steps to treat my disease, not just the symptom. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2010
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