Step 3 Part 2: ABCs of AA
What Bill Wilson originally penned and what ended up coming off the presses as the text-book for AA does differ, slightly. Sometimes editing changes are insignificant; sometimes they change the tone and blur the passion, if not the intent, of the author.
You may have read the following sentence before, if you’ve studied the history of the Big Book, but it’s no longer in the pages of our text. It not only gives us a clue to Bill’s forceful personality, but also sums up his convictions concerning the principles of AA. I laughed out loud when I heard it.
~
If you aren’t convinced of these vital issues, you ought to reread the book to this point or else throw it away!
Amen! I would have loved to have met the guy.
What he meant by vital issues is on page 60 following the 12 Steps:
- a. That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives
- b. That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism
- c. That God could and would if He were sought
Bill’s suggestion of re-reading the book up to this point for those who are not convinced of the ABCs, is not a blustery attempt at humor. The statistics of alcoholism are on the rise and the demographics have broadened dramatically since the first publication of the text in 1939.
We alcoholics are fighting for our lives, or else in a gesture of defeat, we’re drinking ourselves into an early grave. There’s no riding the fence for an alcoholic. To drink is to give up; to drink is to die or slowly become brain-damaged and disabled first, and then die a tragic alcoholic death. I’ve met a lot of sober alcoholics that quit drinking for the sole reason that they didn’t want to die like that.*
Of course, there’s another option. We can just put the cork in the jug and live an emotionally crippled life without the numbing effects of alcohol but with the craziness of alcoholic thinking. We can choose to be a dry drunk, going on emotional binges and isolating ourselves while we nurse our grudges and focus on maintaining our pride, refusing to change. This is not recovery.
On the other hand, to believe that the ABCs are true, means that we can look forward to learning new ways; changing our lives, walking forward with hope and help, and into new solutions for living.
It’s a choice. We can choose to remain victims of alcohol by volunteering for the role of victim and continuing to drink; or we can discover a better way of living by assessing the reality of our situation and taking the 12 Steps to recover.
It’s not quite as easy as my quick summary sounds, but it’s not real complicated, either. It’s simple…very simple. It’s not easy.
It all starts with the ABCs. Elementary. It’s so foundational that a recovery without using the ABCs is not the recovery Bill had in mind. I don’t know about you but my definition of recovery is his. I couldn’t have my recovery without these. It would be like writing a post without being able to use A or B or C. For me, it wouldn’t work. Without them, I would have given up. Many do.
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Alcoholics Anonymous, 2012, p 60
PS:If you want to pull back the curtain of grief that is alcohol, I would suggest you take a look at Danger-alcohol, a post by a young woman who fights daily to become a survivor of alcoholic grief.
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HEIDI! You! I was trying to link YOUR post to my post this AM. I LOVE this post. I am working on a post which compares the way stats are compiled for deaths attributed to alcoholism and wanted to link THIS post to MY post. I just read the whole thing on my computer NOT my phone. Thank you, sweet woman for the linkage.
YOU are amazing. Do you have ANY idea how much you have touched my life? I really really hope so. You are an inspiration in so many ways. I HOPE people in recovery all over find you. They need your blog. I need your blog.
Love to you my Friend,
Jen
Jen–I am thankful beyond words when someone takes a look at my blog and finds a common note, a reverberation of the same chord that is sounding in their experience. That is the reward for writing about recovery, for sitting here by myself and trying to be honest with you, with God and with myself. I spent most of my life protecting myself, so the kind words of you and others do encourage me to continue to work my program. God has blessed me with a life of quiet and a life full of pauses. You are telling me my prayers are being answered…thank you.
It’s His truth that’s amazing… and His grace when I can share it.
Heidi, I love this!
It’s not easy, but it’s simple.
I’m 100% convinced that AA is God inspired and that the Steps – all 12 lead to a healthier, happier for life to anyone.
a. That we were (add the addiction or sin of your choice) and could not manage our own lives
b. That probably no human power could have relieved our (see a.)
c. That God could and would if He were sought (if He were sought – yes!)
You daily live out these truths and have encouraged me to examine my own life in ways I would never have dared without you. This is beautiful, profound, hard, but simple! Thank you!
Debbie
Debbie– You have always made me laugh and more importantly, made me think. So I will just duck my head and take the compliment as it was meant. You know my struggles and you know the failures and yet we can give credit to Him for rescuing me from myself. As you know, I’ve not arrived. You know that.
The Steps are a gift from God to those of us that need a systematic way to apply His truth to every day. I am eternally grateful that I am an alcoholic. Without that, I don’t see how I ever would have found the way to peace. I’m certainly not other-centered enough to have made the choices leading to Alanon! Good thing I drank! Better that I quit…
Thanks for the praise and I share your enthusiasm for the program.
Heidi!!! I just goofed up linking the article to my blog AND IT IS PERFECT! Can you resend it (is that the right lingo?) so I can post it? I am planning to write more tonight about Alcoholism and inaccurate stats.
I deeply appreciate your support and your writing. I adore YOU!
Jen
I’m bending. OK. So bulimia as an addiction (with modifications). But i can relate to the entire emotional, dry drunk stuff.
You are saving me with your words and ideas and posting. I’m paying attention love! I’m getting better, but i will stumble. And i’ve been to my share of meetings, (OA) and BOY we stumble.
But what is God, a Group of Drunks. Maybe that was one of Bill’s sayings?
Melissa– I so appreciate you and love the questions… you”re so brave to ask! I can only talk about my God, who has given me life worth living after I nearly destroyed it single-handedly. You ask ‘what is God’?
You will find your God. Perhaps try to spend some time making a list of all the things you would expect from a God worthy of your trust. OK? It’s a great place to start.
Have you read the We Agnostics, Chapter 4 of the AA book? You might find it interesting. I don’t know if you would agree with it, but.. Bill says, “Even so has God restored us all to our right minds…When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us! Draw near, Melis, draw near.
Keep on Heidi – you are reaching people
you will never know on the world-wide web who need to hear your words
God Bless
susie
SPTP–Thank you for saying so. I pray that i will comfort whereby I’ve been comforted. So many sober AAs helped me get the start that I needed. I’m just paying it forward, I hope.
It has just been this week that I “got it” that this is a way of living and not only a way to stop drinking. I have been spending a lot of time reviewing my fourth and fifth steps while reading about and trying to fully understand 6 and 7. Just like the “well, duh” “aha” moment of learning that the first drink leads to the drunk, I had that epiphany about how this is a “way of living”.
A guy in a meeting last night said to read it over and over and over and over…..until you get it and then read it again. DOS 8/19/11
Barbara–You are doing the deal! Studying the text and being willing to do whatever it takes to continue to learn is such work and so hard to do. Listen to the Old Timers…the ones that grab your attention because they have what you want! Step 6 is about becoming willing to have Him remove your defects of character. Willingness…that’s the key to the whole program. You sound very willing. I hope you have a sponsor or can find one. Again, someone that has what you want…
If I spelled out all the ways I agree with what you have said in this post, it would take all the ABC’s. So I’ll just say “YES. AMEN! I completely agree with you and Bill W.” There aren’t enough like buttons on this post, Heidi!
Debby– Your enthusiasm gave me goosebumps! Thank you for the Amen. This post started out as just a ‘little intro’ to the series and it really took on a life of it’s own because I have such a passion for recovery as Bill saw it! Every year I get a little more radical about the TRUTH of it.