Accept Tense

A popular topic in meetings (at least in my neck of the woods) is-

Acceptance<

If you a regular….or not so regular attendee of AA meetings I am sure you have heard it

“And acceptance was the answer to all of my problems”

It is taken from a story in the back of the Big Book. It is in the section called ‘Personal Stories’.

That section is a collection of stories written by persons who had recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

In regular person terms it means they use the steps to solve the drink problem.
______

It is a great story and gives hope to all of us who are afflicted with alcoholism.

BUT…..

There is always a “but” isn’t there?

What a lot of AA members fail to realize or just plain ignore is this-

That particular topic does absolutely nothing to aid in the recovery of someone who has not fully worked the 12 steps of the AA program.

Wait for it. I will get there.

The person who wrote the story was an active participant in their own recovery. He agreed with the process that was necessary to help him stay stopped from drinking.

That process is outlined by way of the 12 steps that are found within the first 164 pages of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

That person obtained a spiritual experience from the completion and continued effort placed into the process.

From that experience, the story was crafted.

The story from which the acceptance topic is taken from is on page 417 in the 4th Edition.

Anyone else notice what I noticed?

To ask of anyone to understand and share on the topic of acceptance in a meeting is fine.

IF THAT PERSON HAS WORKED ALL THE STEPS

If that person has not worked all the steps and has not learned a large chunk about themselves and the patterns that brought them to AA and the state that their lives are in….then acceptance is not the answer.

The only thing they will be accepting is being tense and confused.

Who wants to accept tense and confusion as a design for living?

If I am willing to accept those 2 as answers, then I am willing to accept 3 more things-

Drink drank drunk

I know that will ease my tension and confusion.
______

I couldn’t accept ANYTHING until I could accept myself…..

And that happened once I put in the work needed to find that out…..by working the steps and having a spiritual experience.

I accept that this is just my view.

It’s still good2begone.

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