Thursday, November 24, 2011:
AS BILL SEES IT
191
The Beginning of Humility[1]
“There are few absolutes inherent in the Twelve Steps. Most Steps are open to interpretation, based on the experience and the outlook of the individual.
Consequently, the individual is free to start the program at whatever point he can, or will. God, as we understand Him, may be defined as a ‘Power greater…’ or the Higher Power. For thousands of members, the A.A. group itself has been a ‘Higher Power’ in the beginning. This acknowledgment is easy to make if the newcomers knows that most members are sober and he isn’t.
His admission is the beginning of humility --- at least the newcomer is willing to disclaim that he himself is not God. That’s all the start he needs. If, following this achievement, he will relax and practice as many of the Steps as he can, he is sure to grow spiritually.”
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[2]I know that there are some in AA who would try to nearly drum me out of the group if I were to assert what Bill W. said in the first three sentences of this reflection. Haven’t we all heard them pound on the pulpit and declare that the Steps must be taken exactly as written in the Big Book? They will insist that the Steps won’t work if we don’t take them in the order they were laid out for us. But I thank the Great Whazoo that Bill W. said it way back then. Not that I am making an idol out of Bill W. because I know he is just another human being like me. I only point this out because I know that the fundamentalist AA’s among us insist so heavily on the authority of the Big Book. I am cautious not to overlook (the concept presented clearly in it) that this book is only an amalgamation of experience and not a book of law. Have a great Thanksgiving today… There is always something to be grateful for: i.e., I am not a turkey... or at least that kind of turkey!
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