Sept. 18, 2014 - Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014

"I've been benefited from a dictionary definition I found that reads: 'rationalization is giving a socially acceptable reason for socially unacceptable behavior, and socially unacceptable behavior is a form of insanity'." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 12 ("Freedom From Bondage"), p 551.

Today, getting drunk every night and waking every morning to a shot of whiskey instead a cup of coffee can't be rationalized with, "Everyone drinks." Even if that were true, not everyone gets drunk every day or has blackouts, and giving a "socially acceptable reason" for an unacceptable behavior is part of the insanity of alcoholism. And alcoholic drinking is not a socially accepted behavior. Today, in my Program of recovery, the definition of insanity is expanded beyond continuing behavior that always leads to the same outcome to include rationalizing my unacceptable conduct with an acceptable reason. May it serve me well. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014