Endigar 904 ~ An Honest Desire
Step One: “We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”
1st Step Principle: We will find enduring strength only when we first admit complete defeat over our isolated, obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior. (Adapted from 12 Steps & 12 Traditions, top of page 22)
AA Extracted Value: Honesty
ACA Extracted Values: Powerlessness & Surrender
Other Extracted Values: Acceptance
Alcoholic Me (AM): I am in trouble here and need help.
Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): Do you have an honest desire to stop drinking?
AM: Well, not exactly. I do have an honest desire to stop reaping consequences from my drinking.
AA: Good luck to you. We are here to help you stop drinking and learn to live a sober life.
AM: Wait, that’s it? My drinking has empowered me in the past. It has been a magical solution to the painful realities that surround me. I just need to be able to control the consumption a bit.
AA: Alcoholism is progressive, chronic, and fatal if left untreated. It is our experience that complete abstinence from alcohol is necessary for the true alcoholic. If you can control your drinking and enjoy it while you restrain yourself, you may not be an alcoholic. For the alcoholic, the solutions provided by drinking fade and give way to the problems of a growing physical craving and overwhelming mental obsession. The cure becomes the killer.
AM: I am back. The consequences are humiliating and overwhelming. I am hurting those who love me. So, I am back. I cannot stop by myself. I honestly want to stop drinking and find a way to live without it.
AA: Welcome back. Let us introduce you to your true self and teach you to connect with a power greater than alcohol. Just keep coming back.
AM + Honesty = AA.
It works if you work it.
Daily Reprieve 
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