So, gotta start somewhere!
Getting sobriety is a journey. The destination is sobriety. The journey is the path we take to get to the destination. Just like any trip that you might take on vacation, for instance.
If you are going to travel to The Grand Canyon to see this marvel, how you get there is the journey and The Grand Canyon is the destination. The 1st Step is to get out the door.
The methods of transportation, car, bus, train, or airline, are part of the journey. The steps you take when you encounter and think, see, touch, smell, and hear along the way such as routes, dining, and lodging are all parts of the journey.
If you are going to get to sobriety, the ways and tools that you use to get there is the journey and sobriety is the destination. The 1st Step is to admit that you are powerless over alcohol and that your life is unmanageable.
The methods of becoming sober, and not just dry, are learned by using the other 11 Steps of the AA Program and are the journey. Just like mapping your route to The Grand Canyon, the route for sobriety is to follow the steps in order, 1–12.
The 1st Step is the ONLY Step that even mentions alcohol and, at that, only the 1st half of the 1st Step. All of the rest are about our thinking! This just shows that, as important as not picking up that 1st drink is to an alcoholic, there is much more to recovery. This is only the start of the journey!
The 1st Step says “ We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable.”
Step 2 says that there is a Higher Power that wants only to help us, not judge us. It does not tell us what to call this Higher Power, leaving to us what, if anything we wish to call It.
Step 3 tells us that, since our mental loads sometimes are backbreaking, we can turn our loads over to our newfound Higher Power.
Steps 4, 5. and 10 are all about taking an inventory of ourselves so that we can identify and kick out the negativity in our minds. After all, we are only as sick as our secrets.
Your inventory will bring not only the misdeeds of the past but also to the people who we hurt during our times in the madness. Steps 6,7,8, and 9 deal with who we harmed and make amends.
Step 11 advises us to pray “Only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.”
Step 12 is a 3 part step. It states “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Itis a wild, wonderful journey that, if I did it, you can do it, too. Come on and join millions of others worldwide on this journey. We welcome you wholeheartedly and support you all the way.
You never have to be alone again, unless you choose to be. This is a “We” program, so “I get drunk and we stay sober.” This makes it easier to work because we can all share the load. Thank you, God!
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