Boleo

Once upon a time there were three little drunks and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes.

Before they left, their mother told them " Whatever you do, do it the best that you can because that's the way to get along in the world. The first little drunk built his house out of straw because it was the easiest thing to do. The second little drunk built his house out of sticks. This was a little bit stronger than a straw house. The third little drunk built his house out of bricks.

One night Big-bad Alcohol, who dearly loved to enslave little drunkies, came along and saw the first little drunk in his house of straw. He said, "Let me in, Let me in, little drunk or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!" "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little drunk.” But of course the wolf did blow the house in and enslaved the first little drunk.

The wolf then came to the house of sticks. "Let me in, Let me in little drunk or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in." "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little drunk. But Alcohol blew that house in too, and enslaved the second little drunk.

Then Alcohol came to the house of bricks. " Let me in, let me in" cried Alcohol! "Or I'll huff and I'll puff till I blow your house in." "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" said the third drunk. Well, Alcohol huffed and puffed but he could not blow down that brick house. But Alcohol was cunning baffling and powerful so he climbed up on the roof to look for a way into the brick house.

The little drunk saw the wolf climb up on the roof and lit a roaring fire in the fireplace and placed on it a large kettle of higher-power. When the wolf finally found the hole in the chimney he crawled down and KERSPLASH right into the kettle of higher-power. That was the end of the little drunks troubles with the Big-Bad Alcohol.

The next day the little drunk invited his mother over . She said "You see it is just as I told you. The way to get recovered in the world is to abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us." Fortunately for that little drunk, he learned that lesson. And he lived happy, joyous and free!
So what is the moral truth of this story and why is it be related to recovery? The answer lies in the framework that recovery is built out of.

The first little drunk built his recovery out of white-knuckled abstinence because it was the easiest thing to do. Like the straw house it had the appearance of being a house but could not hold up to even a brief attack from Alcohol, which was cunning, baffling and powerful.

The second little drunk built his recovery out of psychological tricks & tips. Tricks like keeping the painful memories of his last drunk fresh in his memory and talking to new comers who reminded him just how bad it could get. It was a little stronger then the straw house but still failed to hold up in the long run.

The third little drunk knew just how cunning, baffling and powerful Alcohol could be, so he built his recovery out of spiritual principles. It took longer and required more work than the straw and stick houses but in the long run it withstood the best outside attack of Big-Bad Alcohol. Also the third little drunk knew how tenacious Alcohol was and prepared for Alcohol’s attempt to outflank him by sneaking down the chimney.

That is why the recovered little pig not only built his recovery out of the finest “material” framework available but went on to develop a “spiritual” relationship with a Higher-Power that could be counted on to cover any loopholes in his edifice.