Step Twelve - What it is to me.
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 519
Step Twelve - What it is to me.
Hello my dear SR family,
I'm so glad I got on tonight. I wanted to share something major with you all. I have been logging on to this forum since a few months prior to getting sober, almost two years ago. You all were there for me, supporting me, giving me tough love and encouraging me to try the sober way of life. And I did. And WOW. What a ride. I became an active member of AA and my life changed. Tonight, I finished my 12th Step. My assignment was to write down what this step means to me. I thought it might help someone here, I hope it does.
“Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other alcoholics and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.”
“...And there is action and more action.”
Step Twelve is the culmination of everything. It is where we take a step forward, our hand in the hand of God and we spread the message and try to relieve others of their suffering.
At this point, we have begun to awaken and are now able to do, feel and believe things that we could not do, feel and believe before. We are changed forever. We have stepped into consciousness and are now fully aware of the solution, because we have seen it first hand in ourselves. We believe. We have acquired more esteem-able character assets and are doing the inner work necessary on a daily basis. We are making a willing effort to stay connected to others through honesty, tolerance, love and understanding. But now we must take it further. We must help the next suffering alcoholic.
In practicing the Twelfth Step, we selflessly give ourselves and our time to another alcoholic. We do not expect anything in return, because what we do get cannot be put into words. It is a sense of right duty and purpose. We understand why God has led us to this point, and make ourselves trusted servants.
This step is done through sponsorship, attending meetings, maintaining service commitments, calling other alcoholics, meeting for fellowship and just simply talking.
To me, an important thing to understand is that when we sponsor, we do not give our opinions on outside issues, we make suggestions based on experience of our own, and most importantly, we credit God with a job well done on a sponsee. When I will see my sponsees begin to awaken and their lives change for the better, I will humbly thank God for using me as a vessel to carry the message and ask for the willingness to keep going.
Another important part of this step, and to me the most important part of my recovery as an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, is practicing these principles in all of my affairs. We bring the spirit of AA into everything we do in life. If we are recovering in line with the steps and with these ideals and principles, how can we not? This program is a design for LIVING. So we carry AA into our work, family, social life. We might seek more spirituality through other outlets or come closer to religion, but we always remember where our foundation was built. That without AA, we would not have all of the things we have and we would not be as open and ready to receive these beautiful gifts. We get this gift to give it away.
This step means service, to God, our fellows and to ourselves. We work tirelessly, GRATEFULLY in service because we are ready to see the light come on for someone else. Because self-forgetting is the release from the ego. We let go of fear. We found that freedom from fear is more important than freedom from want, we found that it is better to be happy than to be right, we found that to fall again in life is another experience to learn and a new tool to carry to someone, and we found that in this program, in AA, we can accept and love everything, including ourselves.
I love you all, thank you for being here and keep me sober another day.
Nic.
I'm so glad I got on tonight. I wanted to share something major with you all. I have been logging on to this forum since a few months prior to getting sober, almost two years ago. You all were there for me, supporting me, giving me tough love and encouraging me to try the sober way of life. And I did. And WOW. What a ride. I became an active member of AA and my life changed. Tonight, I finished my 12th Step. My assignment was to write down what this step means to me. I thought it might help someone here, I hope it does.
“Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other alcoholics and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.”
“...And there is action and more action.”
Step Twelve is the culmination of everything. It is where we take a step forward, our hand in the hand of God and we spread the message and try to relieve others of their suffering.
At this point, we have begun to awaken and are now able to do, feel and believe things that we could not do, feel and believe before. We are changed forever. We have stepped into consciousness and are now fully aware of the solution, because we have seen it first hand in ourselves. We believe. We have acquired more esteem-able character assets and are doing the inner work necessary on a daily basis. We are making a willing effort to stay connected to others through honesty, tolerance, love and understanding. But now we must take it further. We must help the next suffering alcoholic.
In practicing the Twelfth Step, we selflessly give ourselves and our time to another alcoholic. We do not expect anything in return, because what we do get cannot be put into words. It is a sense of right duty and purpose. We understand why God has led us to this point, and make ourselves trusted servants.
This step is done through sponsorship, attending meetings, maintaining service commitments, calling other alcoholics, meeting for fellowship and just simply talking.
To me, an important thing to understand is that when we sponsor, we do not give our opinions on outside issues, we make suggestions based on experience of our own, and most importantly, we credit God with a job well done on a sponsee. When I will see my sponsees begin to awaken and their lives change for the better, I will humbly thank God for using me as a vessel to carry the message and ask for the willingness to keep going.
Another important part of this step, and to me the most important part of my recovery as an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, is practicing these principles in all of my affairs. We bring the spirit of AA into everything we do in life. If we are recovering in line with the steps and with these ideals and principles, how can we not? This program is a design for LIVING. So we carry AA into our work, family, social life. We might seek more spirituality through other outlets or come closer to religion, but we always remember where our foundation was built. That without AA, we would not have all of the things we have and we would not be as open and ready to receive these beautiful gifts. We get this gift to give it away.
This step means service, to God, our fellows and to ourselves. We work tirelessly, GRATEFULLY in service because we are ready to see the light come on for someone else. Because self-forgetting is the release from the ego. We let go of fear. We found that freedom from fear is more important than freedom from want, we found that it is better to be happy than to be right, we found that to fall again in life is another experience to learn and a new tool to carry to someone, and we found that in this program, in AA, we can accept and love everything, including ourselves.
I love you all, thank you for being here and keep me sober another day.
Nic.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,408
This step means living the steps and practicing what I preach in my daily life. It means carrying the message of recovery and helping others to recover if and when possible by carrying the message. It also means I live with a gratitude and awareness I simply would never have had without the 12 steps of AA and having a spiritual awakening. Thanks for a great post 🙏
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