These days I’m a vegetarian, but for years my favorite restaurant had a sign hanging on the wall that said,
Man did not claw his way to the top of the food chain to eat soy.
I bring this up because when I say that working the steps of 12-step recovery is the ‘meat & potatoes’ of the program…I know from where I speak! I was a meat & potatoes girl for years. There’s another way to express this sentiment:
Work the steps or die.
The steps are simple (not easy.) It’s not nuclear fuel science. It’s not some ethereal intangible thing you’re going to be traipsing after. It’s an admission of powerlessness and then a journey of 11 more steps to help you find some footing in what has been your previously groundless world.
- The steps are not homework.
- There is no ‘perfect’ way to do them.
- We don’t do it alone…it’s a joint effort.
- You can’t screw it up (unless you let your apathy and indifference take over.)
- When you’re finished, you just start again, so don’t rush. Don’t dwaddle. But don’t rush.
These 12 steps (if you are lucky) are going to become a way of life for you. They are spiritual tools that will replace your completely useless method of living life on this planet. They are the key to everything around here. If you like what you had when you were using, keep doing what you did back then. But if you want something else, you’re going to have to try something new.
Nothing changes until something changes. So make like Nike, and just do it.
A Recovering Life 