Post by ron on Sept 20, 2015 6:59:33 GMT -5
STEP ONE: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol– that our lives had become unmanageable.
WE… This process is not going to be done in isolation. I have to do the work myself, but not by myself.
…admitted… From the dictionary---declared to be true; acknowledged the existence or reality or truth of; allowed entry (as to a theater).
This is the first action we are asked to take, and among the last actions I was able to take. There is more to this admission than saying the words out loud. For a long time I was admitting to others that I was powerless over alcohol, but not admitting it to myself. I was saying it more for the sake of argument, or to hurry things along so that I could move on to something more palatable to think about. I was clinging to the idea that eventually I would be able to drink again with impunity. That idea might have been buried deep in my subconscious, but it was there and stronger than any conscious reason I might have had to quit drinking. Simply stated, I was not done drinking.
When I finally understood what this admission meant, I found I was admitting more than that I was alcoholic and therefore powerless over alcohol---I was admitting that the chips were finally down, that I couldn’t handle it and that I needed help. In another sense of the word, I finally admitted (allowed entry of) the truth into my head that I was alcoholic and could not drink---ever.
…we were… Please notice the tense; it’s not “We are.” We were, but are no longer. As the subtitle of the book Alcoholics Anonymous says, this is “The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Recovered from Alcoholism.” Again, ‘recovered’ is past tense and the action final. I consider myself a recovered alcoholic.
…powerless… This has my vote for the most difficult concept in the program for the newcomer to realize, as well as the most misused and abused concept in the hands of the program’s detractors. First let’s think about what it doesn’t mean:
It does not mean that I was incompetent or helpless, or that I had no power at all. I was not crippled, frail, impotent, feeble or unfit, nor was I weak or worthless. None of these synonyms for ‘powerless’ apply to the type of powerlessness we’re discussing here.
I was powerless in the sense that I did not have the tools I needed to overcome my obsession with alcohol. If I had two boards, a couple of nails and nothing else, I would be hard-pressed to join the boards together. I could desire that the boards be joined together with all my heart, I could pray that they be joined, I could say daily affirmations that the boards are in fact joined together, and, most importantly here, I could muster up every ounce of willpower at my command to force the joining of these two boards, but none of these things would have the power to drive the nails through the boards and cause them to be joined. I would be powerless to join the boards, but I could not be said to be worthless, weak, unfit, etc. I’d just be in need of a hammer to help me. And if I had never driven a nail through wood using a hammer, I might need to find someone who did have experience with driving nails with a hammer to show me how it works.
Such is the nature of the powerlessness spoken of in Step 1. My desire and my willpower, great as they may have been, were not enough to overcome my obsession anymore than they would be enough to join those two boards together for me. I sure spent a lot of time attempting to use my willpower, though. I tried harder; I made commitment after commitment; I was bound and determined; all for naught. I had to become honest enough with myself to accept the fact, admit it into my head, that I was powerless over my obsession. Acceptance is the principle behind the first step and self-honesty was the key I needed to unlock it.
…over alcohol… This reduced to a set of one those things over which I was powerless, defined and kept me focused on the problem at hand. My immediate concern was my drinking. Others may be powerless over their caloric intake, or a different drug, or gambling, or whatever, and the plethora of 12 Step fellowships addressing these different issues indicates to me that the Steps have wide, if not universal, application to our human frailties, but drinking was my most pressing problem. As they say, “Shoot the gators closest to the boat!”
Some would say that alcohol is an inert substance, and therefore saying we are powerless over it is the height of folly. Aside from alcohol being far from an inert substance as I understand inert substances from my high school chemistry classes, this is mere semantics! While I was drinking, I was powerless over my obsession to drink. Saying I was powerless over alcohol may not be as specific or accurate, but it contains enough of the truth of the matter to convey the general meaning, and the anecdotal evidence presented in 12 step rooms indicates that it effectively communicates the idea to a wide assortment of fellow sufferers.
…that our lives had become unmanageable. Strangely, or perhaps not, I considered my unmanageable life the reason I drank! No, I had no problem understanding that my life was unmanageable. And now I see that life is inherently unmanageable whether we be alcoholics or ‘normies.’ The Steps have given me a way to live happy, joyous and free in the face of life’s unmanageability.
WE… This process is not going to be done in isolation. I have to do the work myself, but not by myself.
We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck…The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 17)
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. (Ecc. 4:9, 10 NASB)
One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. (Ecc. 4:9, 10 NASB)
One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
…admitted… From the dictionary---declared to be true; acknowledged the existence or reality or truth of; allowed entry (as to a theater).
This is the first action we are asked to take, and among the last actions I was able to take. There is more to this admission than saying the words out loud. For a long time I was admitting to others that I was powerless over alcohol, but not admitting it to myself. I was saying it more for the sake of argument, or to hurry things along so that I could move on to something more palatable to think about. I was clinging to the idea that eventually I would be able to drink again with impunity. That idea might have been buried deep in my subconscious, but it was there and stronger than any conscious reason I might have had to quit drinking. Simply stated, I was not done drinking.
When I finally understood what this admission meant, I found I was admitting more than that I was alcoholic and therefore powerless over alcohol---I was admitting that the chips were finally down, that I couldn’t handle it and that I needed help. In another sense of the word, I finally admitted (allowed entry of) the truth into my head that I was alcoholic and could not drink---ever.
Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us. (Bill W.)
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. (Ephesians 4:25 NASB).
One of the hardest things in this world is to admit you are wrong. And nothing is more helpful in resolving a situation than its frank admission. (Benjamin Disraeli)
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. (Ephesians 4:25 NASB).
One of the hardest things in this world is to admit you are wrong. And nothing is more helpful in resolving a situation than its frank admission. (Benjamin Disraeli)
…we were… Please notice the tense; it’s not “We are.” We were, but are no longer. As the subtitle of the book Alcoholics Anonymous says, this is “The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Recovered from Alcoholism.” Again, ‘recovered’ is past tense and the action final. I consider myself a recovered alcoholic.
…powerless… This has my vote for the most difficult concept in the program for the newcomer to realize, as well as the most misused and abused concept in the hands of the program’s detractors. First let’s think about what it doesn’t mean:
It does not mean that I was incompetent or helpless, or that I had no power at all. I was not crippled, frail, impotent, feeble or unfit, nor was I weak or worthless. None of these synonyms for ‘powerless’ apply to the type of powerlessness we’re discussing here.
I was powerless in the sense that I did not have the tools I needed to overcome my obsession with alcohol. If I had two boards, a couple of nails and nothing else, I would be hard-pressed to join the boards together. I could desire that the boards be joined together with all my heart, I could pray that they be joined, I could say daily affirmations that the boards are in fact joined together, and, most importantly here, I could muster up every ounce of willpower at my command to force the joining of these two boards, but none of these things would have the power to drive the nails through the boards and cause them to be joined. I would be powerless to join the boards, but I could not be said to be worthless, weak, unfit, etc. I’d just be in need of a hammer to help me. And if I had never driven a nail through wood using a hammer, I might need to find someone who did have experience with driving nails with a hammer to show me how it works.
Such is the nature of the powerlessness spoken of in Step 1. My desire and my willpower, great as they may have been, were not enough to overcome my obsession anymore than they would be enough to join those two boards together for me. I sure spent a lot of time attempting to use my willpower, though. I tried harder; I made commitment after commitment; I was bound and determined; all for naught. I had to become honest enough with myself to accept the fact, admit it into my head, that I was powerless over my obsession. Acceptance is the principle behind the first step and self-honesty was the key I needed to unlock it.
Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built. (Bill W.)
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Rom 7:15 NASB)
Drinking was my way of saying “No” to powerlessness. (rjim)
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Rom 7:15 NASB)
Drinking was my way of saying “No” to powerlessness. (rjim)
…over alcohol… This reduced to a set of one those things over which I was powerless, defined and kept me focused on the problem at hand. My immediate concern was my drinking. Others may be powerless over their caloric intake, or a different drug, or gambling, or whatever, and the plethora of 12 Step fellowships addressing these different issues indicates to me that the Steps have wide, if not universal, application to our human frailties, but drinking was my most pressing problem. As they say, “Shoot the gators closest to the boat!”
Some would say that alcohol is an inert substance, and therefore saying we are powerless over it is the height of folly. Aside from alcohol being far from an inert substance as I understand inert substances from my high school chemistry classes, this is mere semantics! While I was drinking, I was powerless over my obsession to drink. Saying I was powerless over alcohol may not be as specific or accurate, but it contains enough of the truth of the matter to convey the general meaning, and the anecdotal evidence presented in 12 step rooms indicates that it effectively communicates the idea to a wide assortment of fellow sufferers.
As active alcoholics, we lost our ability to choose whether we would drink. We were the victims of a compulsion which seemed to decree that we must go on with our own destruction. Yet we came to believe that alone we were powerless over alcohol. (Bill W.)
If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that some day we will be immune to alcohol. (Bill W.)
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? (ISA 55:2 NASB)
We admitted we were powerless over others -- that our lives had become unmanageable. (CoDA)
We admitted that we were powerless over food -- that our lives had become unmanageable. (OA)
We admitted we were powerless over lip balm -- that our lives had become unmanageable. (Lip Balm Anonymous) {<G> Look it up!}
If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that some day we will be immune to alcohol. (Bill W.)
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? (ISA 55:2 NASB)
We admitted we were powerless over others -- that our lives had become unmanageable. (CoDA)
We admitted that we were powerless over food -- that our lives had become unmanageable. (OA)
We admitted we were powerless over lip balm -- that our lives had become unmanageable. (Lip Balm Anonymous) {<G> Look it up!}
…that our lives had become unmanageable. Strangely, or perhaps not, I considered my unmanageable life the reason I drank! No, I had no problem understanding that my life was unmanageable. And now I see that life is inherently unmanageable whether we be alcoholics or ‘normies.’ The Steps have given me a way to live happy, joyous and free in the face of life’s unmanageability.
Such is the paradox of AA regeneration: strength arising out of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one’s old life as a condition for finding a new one. (Bill W.)
The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. (Samuel Johnson)
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Attributed to various Chinese philosophers. Pick your favorite and begin the journey!)
The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. (Samuel Johnson)
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Attributed to various Chinese philosophers. Pick your favorite and begin the journey!)