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Old 01-03-2011, 07:03 PM
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NYCDoglvr
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 6,262
What AA Means By "Powerless"

Through the years I've heard a number of people say they can't stand/wont tolerate AA because "they tell you you're powerless". Since I think people are interpreting it incorrectly I want to explain what it means. At least my take on it.

The only place the word "powerless" appears is in the first step: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable. You must take this literally: we're powerless OVER alcohol.

I call myself an alcoholic because I can't have one drink. I may say I'll have a drink and even believe it but I'm incapable of stopping at one and typically drink to a blackout. Non-alcoholics can have a drink or two, they have a switch in their head that enables them to stop. I've never had that switch.

When we stop drinking we become very powerful indeed. Without booze and drugs we can create lives have rewarding work, families and friends. We're powerful when we decide we're not going to drink today. When I was an active alcoholic I gave all my power away to a bottle, which called the shots in my life because I put it before family, loved ones, work.

Finally, AA doesn't tell anyone anything. I think it's a good idea to keep it simple. "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking". That's it. You don't have to even say you're an alcoholic, only that you don't want to drink/take drugs. The Big Book says that everything else is a suggestion. If you decide you're an alcoholic and want to do the 12 steps, you start with step 1.

There's nothing harder than getting sober and it took me years to realize what a gift the program was in my life. But this has saved my life: It's only today I don't drink. As an early sponsor said, "life only su*ks one day at a time too."

Oh yea!
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