|
Then we offered tobacco to
the Spirits and prayed for help--I took out the sacred objects and
practiced the power bestowed upon men.
Walks-in-the-Rain
Winnebago
Then it is explained that other
Steps of the A.A. program can be practiced with success only when
Step Three is given a determined and persistent trial. This statement may
surprise newcomers who have experienced nothing but constant deflation and
a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have
become persuaded, and rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will
not yield to a headlong assault powered by the individual alone. But now
it appears that there are certain things which only the individual can do.
All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to
develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is
the only one who can make the decision to exert himself. All of the Twelve
Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their
principals and so, we trust, to God's will.
It is when we try to make our
will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us,
this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the
misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead
of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us. To
make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, and
Step Three opens the door.
Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions
pg. 40
|