May 1

The 12 Steps of Recovery do not have a corner on the market of sobriety. There are many ways to get sober. You don’t need to work the 12 Steps, but you should be prepared to live sober. That’s where the 12 Steps help in that process. The 12 Steps borrowed, stole, regurgitated, and reconstituted the same principles that all well-balanced people have lived by since the dawn of time. There is nothing new in the “Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.” It contains nothing that hasn’t been published in all the other helpful books of the past. The principles of honesty, hope, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, humility, brotherly love, self-discipline, perseverance, spirituality, and service have been in place and practiced in various philosophies, faiths, and religions. The only thing that the 12 Steps and A.A. did differently is put it into a language that the addict/alcoholic could understand. The message came with compassion, proper depth, and weight.

Reflections

Have you ever read the “Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous”? Why not? What could it hurt?

Daily Challenge

Just read it: https://www.aa.org/the-big-book - For free!