July 5, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Wednesday, July 5, 2023

“It helped me a great deal to become convinced that alcoholism was a disease, not a moral issue; that I had been drinking as a result of a compulsion, even though I had not been aware of the compulsion at the time; and that sobriety was not a matter of willpower. The people of AA had something that looked much better than what I had, but I was afraid to let go of what I had in order to try something new; there was a certain sense of security in the familiar.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 17 (“Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict”), p 448.

Today, wisdom to understand that “security” I thought I had in the familiarity of alcohol was actually the predictability of its outcome. I need look no further than yesterday to know that my drinking progressed and never regressed, that its consequences became gradually harsher and that the court’s sentence was pretty much harsher than with all the other DUI’s before. Today, I give up that sense of security that is really nothing more than predictability and take a chance on what is not familiar — sobriety. At least with sobriety, I don’t have the boredom of knowing the outcome because the outcome of my drinking was always the same. Maybe the unpredictability of the benefits of sobriety is worth the effort. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023