Think about a journey that promises support, guidance, and a chance at a better life. That's exactly what the 12 Step program offers to those who are seeking recovery from alcohol addiction and substance abuse.
There was a popular song in the 1960’s entitled “Where have all the flowers gone?” by Pete Seeger. The chorus went:
“Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago.”
Alcoholism is a type of addiction that can affect an individual’s mental and physical health. To avoid further complications, rehabilitation is recommended. However, understanding how to get an alcoholic into rehab can be a confusing process, especially if the affected individual doesn’t acknowledge their addiction. If you or a loved one are looking for recovery options, here is an alcohol rehab guide to help you better understand the process.
Chapter seven of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, is devoted entirely to working with others. You get a clue from the author of the “Big Book”, how important certain steps are by the amount of space he devotes to them. When the author has devoted an entire chapter to working with others, i.e., Step 12, it must be important.
There is this thing when you are sober, a celebration of sorts, called a recovery birthday (think cake and laughter and a new shiny chip). They can be a big deal to those of us living in Recovery. It is a milestone reached, a celebration of the life we are currently living, an acknowledgment of the journey we have embarked upon and continue to walk everyday despite the difficulties. A reminder that we are still alive and not just surviving anymore, but thriving. But these birthdays aren’t always easy, or happy and that can be confusing.
When I first came into the Al-Anon program, I had spent so much time and energy into isolating, stuffing my feelings and trying to fix and control people, places and things, that I had no idea who I was, what I liked or disliked or even what I what felt. When they told me that I needed to keep the focus on myself and not the alcoholic, I didn’t know what that meant. I wasn’t capable of an intimate relationship with anyone else because I didn’t have an intimate relationship with myself.
We have the 12 Steps and the 12 Traditions on which volumes of material have been written. Yet, a common theme running through the steps and traditions is this idea of principles. But what are these principles and from where do they come?
“By 1937, some of us realized that AA needed a standard literature. There would have to be a book ... Well, we did quarrel violently over the preparation and distribution of that book. In fact, it took five years for the clamor to die down. Should any AAs dream that the old-timers who put the book together went about in serene meditation and white robes, then they had best forget it.” - AA Co-Founder, Bill W., November 1951, “Services Make AA Tick”, The Language of the Heart.
Here we are… months after the world became an unknown place, and many of our creature comforts, things we took for granted, turned into vast luxuries. I dream longingly of a haircut or sitting in a café with a dear friend over a steaming cup of bad coffee…or, hardest of all, receiving a hug at an AA meeting. I am getting accustomed to my new masked reality, the shouting at friends from a distance when I have the rare pleasure of seeing them. And, somehow, it is all ok. Really ok. And that is because I watch my mouth.
A definition of the word sponsor published at a time when the A.A. program was in its infancy states: “Sponsor - One who assumes, or one to whom is delegated, responsibility for some other person.” Webster, circa - 1936
