Step by Step
Monday, Dec. 9, 2013
"Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and conditions." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5 ("How It Works"), p 64.
Today, I cannot hear too often and shirk off the powerful truth that my drinking "was but a symptom" of a deeper emotional and spiritual turmoil that plunged me into alcoholism. Accepting this truth, logic brings the companion truth that abstinence from drinking by itself will not bring me the serenity and better life that sobriety and recovery promise. Without confronting and taking on the "causes and conditions" of my alcoholism, I may be a relapse waiting to happen. This is why, for me, I have to move beyond abstinence alone and work the Steps of the Program, from the gut-wrenching honesty of the Fourth Step to offering amends to everyone my drinking hurt and to the spiritual renewal promised me in Step 12 - and its command that I be in some form of service if for no other reason than to take my attention off myself and on the needs and plights of the alcoholic who still suffers. Today, simply not drinking is not enough by itself and I look to the Steps to guide me to the promise of being sober and not just a dry drunk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013
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