Oct. 22, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015

"The classification of alcoholics seems most difficult ...There are, of course, the psychopaths who are emotionally unstable. ...They are always 'going on the wagon for keeps.' They are over-remorseful and make many resolutions, but never a decision.
"There is the type of man who is unwilling to admit that he cannot take a drink. He plans various ways of drinking. He changes his brand or his environment. There is the type who always believes that after being entirely free from alcohol for a period of time he can take a drink without danger. There is the manic-depressive type, who is, perhaps, the least understood by his friends ...
"Then there are types entirely normal in every respect except in the effect alcohol has upon them. They are often able, intelligent, friendly people.
"All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "The Doctor's Opinion," p xxviii.

Today, no wasting time figuring out in what "classification" of drinking I fit because, in the end, the common denominator for everyone is that we cannot now or ever drink responsibly. If I accept it as absolute truth and have surrendered to Step One and can begin the work toward recovery. If I have continue to deny the reality that I can never drink against, I cannot set out on the journey toward sobriety because I have not admitted my powerlessness over alcohol. And if the medical opinion here is on the mark - that drinking is the trigger to the "phenomenon of craving" - the solution to quenching the craving is simple: don't drink. Keep it simple! And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015