PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE TWELVE STEPS
The Steps are a powerful statement of personal responsibility. They call for us to admit powerlessness over alcohol. At the same time, the Steps ask us to act to promote recovery from alcoholism.
http://www.cyberrecovery.net/forums/showthread.php?t=359
Once a month I do a focus group on responsibility in recovery. Let’s be clear, I have lost the choice of whether or not I drink alcohol. But what about now that I am in the program of recovery? I can choose to go to a meeting, I can choose to meet a sponsee rather than staying home and watching TV but meetings alone will not keep me sober. So, I then choose a sponsor and get to work. Willing to go to any lengths means listening, learning and doing the work that is presented in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The next step is to give what has been so freely given to me; I choose to say yes when someone comes to me asking for help.
I was telling someone the other day, even at 9 and ½ years sober, my mind still defaults to “no”. The phone rings and my mind says “no” but I pick it up anyway. Someone asks me to sponsor them, and although my mind says “no”, “yes” is what comes out of my mouth. My sponsor says I need to do another 4th and 5th, I don’t wanna; I do it anyway.
I have a choice in the action I take; I have a choice to be open, willing and honest. I do these things and I am given the mental defense the book talks about. My Higher Power takes away the default desire to drink.
I don’t know about you but I was “sold” on AA when I saw the promises. I mean really!! Why would you not do the work?!!
(Source: lahacienda.com)
