June 18 - June. 24, 2010: Step 2

Step 2 for me was a little different. I didn't originally come to AA to get sober. I came here because I was insane. Truly. I was at end stage alcoholism and suffering from the insanity that goes along with it. Step 2 was something I desperately Wanted to believe, but didn't at first because I thought I was too far gone in my insanity. One day at a time, not drinking, attending meetings, reading literature and talking with a wonderful sponsor, everything was an element in sorting out my insane thinking and insane action. I came to believe and more importantly realize that there are MANY powers greater than myself. Included in this is my higher power that I choose to call God because it is short and direct to the point.

My dear patient first sponsor let me know that I wouldn't get "put away" for what I was thinking, But for what I do. So, I checked with sober people with good recovery and lives before doing almost anything the first year or so. Sadly, Some things I didn't listen to. But it gave me a good idea of how to redirect my thinking and actions to be a more sane person. God Willing and the creek don't rise- I am about to celebrate 23 years. I still practice step 2 EVERY day. If I was there before, I possibly could return, and my sobriety and higher power are too precious to me today.

Step II: "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

Bill summarizes it this way in his 12x12 essay:True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him."

The essence is found in the statement: first, we have been insane; not in our right mind; acting irrationally and without considering consequence of what we will have done or caused. We did this because of alcohol. It was what made us crazy, because we couldn't help, as alcoholics, but become intoxicated. We were out of control mentally and physically when it came to it. The admission of this is the acknowledgment of insanity relevant to Step II.

Then, having admitted that our alcoholism made us insane: "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us." God is many things to many people, and all things to some. In the freedom of A.A., each of us is allowed to find our own understanding, or lack of without judgment (theoretically). Whether it is the group, the principles, the literature or the fellowship and sponsorship, we find some manifestation of a strength that brings us back into focus using the lens of sobriety.

Alcohol makes us act and think insanely. A.A. and our understanding of God, as well as the use of that power as we know it, can restore us.

Edited by Jay M. - 24 Jul 2010 at 6:56pm