Dec. 2, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012

" ...Step Ten ...suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear ...We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6 ("Into Action"), p 84.

Just for today, if it is true that a slip or relapse are preceded by thoughts that are mostly subconscious, a more diligent practice of Step 10 might be a refuge from a return to drinking. The 10th Step, the logical "maintenance" of the Fourth, could alert us to problems in our physical, emotional and spiritual conditions, and those conditions may well have been those that led us to drinking in the first place. The importance of the 10th cannot be under-estimated; it compels us to continue taking the Fourth Step on a daily basis, and do it honestly and diligently. With that honesty and diligence, we may find in the 10th some of the defects we acknowledged in our Fourth Step. By recognizing them before they reach the surface, we might be able to fight off the potential slip or relapse. At the same time, if we make conscious those thoughts that are otherwise subconscious but cave in to temptation or craving anyway, we most likely have not fully embraced the very First Step - "Admitted we were powerless ..." Today, I choose not to neglect my 10th Step. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012