Step by Step
Monday, May 6, 2013
"Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves." - Alcoholics Anonymous, Ch 5, Third Edition, 1976, p 58.
Today, should I feel insecure in recovery, tempted to drink or use and fumble repeatedly with slips or relapses, I have to ask if I am one of those who is "constitutionally incapable" of being honest with myself. If I am in that number, then, I need to ask if I have rejected the Program's first four words: "Admitted (I am) powerless ..." And if I have not taken that First Step, the question is simple: do I want to drink more than I don't want to drink. But if I am as honest as I think I can be in trying to get with the Program and I still struggle, maybe I am not doing it "One Day at a Time" and thinking in terms of the rest of my life without drinking. The "cure" to that line of thought is simple: today is all any of us has with no guarantee of a tomorrow; I need only to think of the rest of my life as today. I ask myself today, then, if I am struggling, whether I am constitutionally capable of honesty - first with myself. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
"Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves." - Alcoholics Anonymous, Ch 5, Third Edition, 1976, p 58.
Today, should I feel insecure in recovery, tempted to drink or use and fumble repeatedly with slips or relapses, I have to ask if I am one of those who is "constitutionally incapable" of being honest with myself. If I am in that number, then, I need to ask if I have rejected the Program's first four words: "Admitted (I am) powerless ..." And if I have not taken that First Step, the question is simple: do I want to drink more than I don't want to drink. But if I am as honest as I think I can be in trying to get with the Program and I still struggle, maybe I am not doing it "One Day at a Time" and thinking in terms of the rest of my life without drinking. The "cure" to that line of thought is simple: today is all any of us has with no guarantee of a tomorrow; I need only to think of the rest of my life as today. I ask myself today, then, if I am struggling, whether I am constitutionally capable of honesty - first with myself. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013
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