Powerlessness

[JB]

"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had
become unmanageable" - BB, page 59

It is no co-incidence that the very first Step mentions powerlessness.
An admission of personal powerlessness over alcohol is a cornerstone
of the foundation of recovery.

I've learned that I do not have the power and control I once thought I
had

But I've also learned that I'm not powerless over some things. I am
not powerless over my attitudes. I am not powerless over negativity.
I am not powerless over assuming responsibility for my own recovery.
I have the power to exert a positive influence on myself, my loved
ones and the world in which I live. (Ref: Daily Reflections, page 11)

Only in June 2003 did I become willing to not only say the words "I am
powerless over alcohol" but, more importantly, to believe it true.
More recently, I've come to know and accept that over people and the
world in which I live, I often have no control. The reading I've
chosen to share with you today reminds me of what I can control.

When I was drinking and letting thoughts that "life's not treating me
right/ it's not being as I want it to be" be an excuse for anger,
frustration and resentment, then I was giving both alcohol and life as
it is, power over me and that power harmed me. It caused me lose
interest in life; got me thinking that life wasn't worth living and on
more than one occasion, got me thinking about killing myself.

For me, there is no doubt that without first wholeheartedly accepting
that I am indeed powerless over alcohol and also much of what happens
in life, I could not have begun to recover from alcoholism.

Sent with love and with hopes that you all have another day of joyful
sobriety.

JB/Sheenah