July 14, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Friday, July 14, 2023

“As we look back, we feel we had gone on drinking many years beyond the point where we could quit on our will power. If anyone questions whether he has entered this dangerous area, let him try leaving liquor alone for one year. If he is a real alcoholic and very far advanced, there is scant chance of success. In the early days of our drinking, we occasionally remained sober for a year or more, becoming serious drinkers again later. Though you may be able to stop for a considerable period, you may yet be a potential alcoholic.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 3 (“More About Alcoholism”), p 34.

Today — the AA challenge. If hangovers, the morning drink to calm a churning stomach and shakes, if warnings from the spouse, partner or employer and if high liver enzymes aren’t enough to clue me that I might have a problem with alcohol, I’ll take the AA challenge and give up drinking for a year. It would be a monumental achievement considering I probably can’t remember when I went that long without a drink after I started. And if I don’t make it …how about a piece of humble pie with a couple of side dishes of honesty and humility “to go to any lengths”  to recover? Likewise, even if I am in recovery and it’s been a few years since my last drink, what are the odds that I can start drinking responsibly again? Rhetorical question. Today, I set out on the AA challenge to go it alcohol-free for a year …one day at a time. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023