Daily Reflections..Comments Welcomed

[CarolD]

Daily Reflections


THE 100% STEP

Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were
powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 68

Long before I was able to obtain sobriety in A.A., I knew without a
doubt that alcohol was killing me, yet even with this knowledge, I was
unable to stop drinking. So, when faced with Step One, I found it
easy to admit that I lacked the power to not drink. But was my life
unmanageable? Never! Five months after coming into A.A., I was
drinking again and wondered why.

Later on, back in A.A. and smarting from my wounds, I learned that
Step One is the only Step that can be taken 100%. And that the only
way to take it 100% is to take 100% of the Step. That was many
twenty-four hours ago and I haven't had to take Step One again.

[CarolD]

For any readers interested...we have a Step Study here

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/step-study/

Please share there there too if you like.

[collinsmi]

I remember that Carol and was just thinking about it the other day. At the end if pressed, I might admit I was an alcoholic, but quit drinking? A bit drastic.

Once I did quit, it was hard to ignore the evidence that my life was unmanageable. Every aspect seemed to be unravelling fast that first year!

[Sheryl85]

I know exactly what you are talking about. I too hadn’t realized just how important it was about the working 100% part of that step until I had reached year 13. A couple of years later after suffering through a serious near miss at going back out a gentleman at a meeting in San Antonio nodded his head in understanding and asked, “How wide was your dash?” At first I didn’t understand what he meant until I remembered that Step One is written in two parts separated by a dash. His meaning became clear. I had forgotten the second part of that step and thought that I was once again in control of my life. As it turned out, I could admit that I was powerless over alcohol but the gulf had widened between that admission and the fact that my life was still unmanageable by me.

Today my dash is small. It now separates only two facets of my illness which has but a single solution…that God could and would relieve me from a hopeless state of mind and body which had held me captive in the bonds of alcohol if I only ask for His grace.

Thank God sanity returned before it was too late and I started working the "100% solution" once again on a daily basis.