Quote:
"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (our problem) and that our lives had become unmanageable."
Step one is the gateway to the recovery process. Without it, there is very little hoep that we can effectively achieve our goal.
In this crucial step we are called upon to admit our personal powerlessness over the dilemma in which we find ourselves. We are called upon to admit that our life has reached a state of such disrepair that we see no possibility of ever setting it right again.
Despite all that we have been taught about never giving up, never yelling "uncle," never admitting defeat, we now find ourselves facing the unrelenting fact that all of our old beliefs have withered and blown away in the reality of our present situation.
We shall learn, as we pursue Step One, that we are facing some puzzling paradoxes: "We have to surrender to win," "To keep what we have, we have to give it away." "Failure is not final--it is actually a stepping stone to success."
Are these contradictory thoughts? We don't think so. They have proven valid for many of us.
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Quoted from "Step by Step, daily meditations for living the twelve steps by Muriel Zink.
I fought for way too many years with Step One. I could not understand how I could win in nearly everything else in my life but when it came to alcohol I failed so many times. Those mornings I would wake up and pray that my car was outside, I had not done anything too stupid or bad, swearing I would not drink that day but knowing that I have said that before and failed, etc....
It was only when I was to the point of no longer being able to live with alcohol but not knowing how to live without it that I was able to surrender and start working the program of A.A.
Fully working Step One has been an essential part of my recovery. Since the first day I accepted that I am powerless when it comes to alcohol and that because of my alcoholism my life had become out of control and unmanageable, I have not wavered from the knowledge that drinking is NOT an option for me.
How about you. How has Step One affected your life? Any thoughts or comments?