The Paradox of Powerlessness

You will see the use of the word God and Higher Power throughout this book, both are used to express the source of a force that is outside of ourselves that helps us to recovery from our addictions.

ED SAYS: "There is a whole lot of power in just being powerless!" This was the mantra preached by my sponsor, the late, great Jimmy O.

We are going to be reviewing the Twelve Steps individually and considering the spiritual lessons that allow us to live free from alcoholism and addictions.

For successful recovery, the steps are meant to be worked in order, and usually with a sponsor or spiritual advisor. Each step is designed to prepare us for the next step as we find greater humility and connection to our Higher Power.

The path of recovery involves difficult and sometimes emotionally painful tasks, but it is worth the effort.

As we apply ourselves, we lose our ineffective ways of handling things and start to experience real spiritual growth. Honesty, humility, and courage are components of the faith needed to allow us to face any circumstances, difficulty, or feelings with strength and grace.

There are questions to answer for every Step. After reviewing Step One, here is a sample of the questions:

• What do I try to escape from?

• What do I feel trapped by?

• How do I escape my feelings?

• When things don't go my way, or when I am in a no-win situation, what is my reaction?

• Do I need to change my responses--if so, how?

• What is the longest amount of time I have been able to stop using?

• What are some of the reasons for using?

• What are the things I think I can control?

• What do I lie to myself about?

• How do I lie to myself?

• What is so hard about telling the truth? To myself and others?

• What is the difference between humiliation and humility?

• How do I view myself as being more important than others?

• What makes me think I am in control of anything?

• How do I try to control situations?

• Have I placed expectations on other people of my Higher Power?

• What kind of people do I spend time with--people who criticize, or people who encourage?

• What have I done in the past to deal with emotional pain?

• What happened in the past that still upsets me today?

• What happened in the past that still invokes fear in me today?

• What makes me feel most cared for?

• How do I know that God is working in my life?

I sincerely hope that this information has been helpful to you. My expectation is that you have discovered some actionable perspectives and useful solutions. I encourage you to stay the course. Remember, life is difficult. Recovery can help make it a little less difficult.

Cut yourself some slack and learn how to be compassionate with yourself and others. Get help if you are having trouble with any self-sabotaging behaviors.

A miracle is always waiting for you just around the corner. So don't quit before the miracle happens and certainly don't quit after the miracle of recovery happens for you.

Wishing you all the best, Ed Haych