Huw it is so good to read something that keeps it quite simple.

I for one am glad you caught it so you could share it with us.

Love this post!
Thanks for taking the time to type it in!

It's really true, and I believe it.
I didn't wake up with a hangover today and I thank AA for that.

I need posts like this!

My impulsive thoughts are what scared me most. I would drink one day and it would quickly turn into 10 without giving it another thought. Then I'd think "what the HELL was I thinkin?" There really is a "moment of clarity" I believe.

All hail Huw

I think I get caught up in the "simple process of housecleaning" as you put it. It's not that simple for some people. To clear away all the wreckage and false beliefs and pain and resentments and all that other crap that some may have to deal with. It takes time. So if you end up drinking while doing it, well, just get back up and keep doing it until it starts working for you. I drank several times since starting AA but I have made alot of progress and have gained strength and learned alot and I keep getting back up and going back and working on things. I don't think it's so simple. To change your whole brain overnight. Some people have alot more clutter than others. And some people start with no conception of God or spirituality whatsoever so that takes time too.

The thing is that it IS simple but it's not always easy. It has to be this simple so that we can all get what it is, when we do that we can begin the slower process of dealing with all our baggage, what helped me in that was trusting in the process - that ultimately the steps would work and I would one day be free, and I am and I have been for a long time now.

This is wherein lies the hope for all those who are struggling with 'other stuff' - it does take time but we can get and stay sober whilst we are doing it - that is my own experience! I may have been barking mad at times in my recovery but I was sober and that gave me a chance, without that I suspect I might not be here.

you're right serenity, I tend to complicate things too much and feel I have to get all better overnight and deal with and figure everything out myself and like right now. I stress myself out and think too much about stuff. I really have to learn to take it easy, be gentle with myself and one day at a time. Relax.... and breathe... It's going to all work out in the end.

I nearly missed it. i complicated everything when I first came to AA and made things so difficult for myself that I was totally unable to take any action. I thought and analysed everything to the point of complete confusion and paralysis.

Once I started to follow the book and the suggestions I was given things started to become so much more simple. I find the longer I am sober, the simpler they seem to get for me.

Picking up on what rainyangel said I think it is important to distinguish between simple and easy.

The process as described by Huw is definitely a simple set of instructions. However that does not mean that they are necessarily easy or painless to complete.

I have found some of the work required during recovery painful and difficult. Working through some things that I wished I could leave well in the past was a necessary part of recovery but a painful one. Facing up to my own part in things has sometimes been painful. Work I have subsequently done in therapy has been very difficult at times.

When I refer to the program as simple I am contrasting it with it being complicated rather than saying that it is easy ie not sometimes painful and difficult.

What i can say though that working a program of recovery has been the easier, softer way for me to stay sober. Much easier, less painful and successful than trying using willpower. At least the pain I felt as a result of the program has been constructive and lead to better things as opposed to the pain I felt when drinking which was pointless, relentless and lead nowhere but down.

I think I'm at the "barking mad" point right now. I have little patience. There is a big difference between "simple" and "easy" to me.

Non alcoholics think "just don't drink, it's as simple as that" and for them, it really rings true. They don't understand that it's not that easy when it's what you're used to and what has provided comfort in your time of need for so long.

It complicates the hell out of it to try to analyze WHY it's not that "simple". I think the whole thing boils down to acceptance & stop asking why and just recover. I don't need to know why, it is what it is...a weakness that needs to be overpowered.

Gunthar, Todd...are you trying to be provocative again? We heard you the first time. Many of us just disagree. I for one disagree with your beliefs. And you disagree with ours. I don't go to your site and be provacative with my beliefs, what are you REALLY trying to accomplish here?

holycrap - that is definitely when things changed for me when I stopped asking why about everything and just got on and did something.

Oh GOD GOD GOD... thank you. And I'm not religious. It's a god of MY understanding. It can't be a religion, because no-one else has MY GOD. I do however believe in what AA and the steps have done for me. I'm 9+ years sober. I havn't slipped. I've had plenty of thoughts of it, and come close one or two times. But I havn't slipped, I believe, because I use all the tools and resources available to me through doing the 12 steps.

Once I'd surrendered and said "okay, let's do the steps". I had no idea what lay ahead. I didn't look past to the next step. I just simply followed where those before me had been, and listened and acted. It was like doing a basic course, except the content was me, and as I completed each module, the better I got at understanding what I needed to do to stay sober.

I wrote, read what I wrote, and I talked about it with my sponsor/s. I have no doubt that if I did not actively do the steps, and just waited for them to come to me and for them to happen without action, then I would be drinking today, maybe even dead.

I don't always attend meetings, I'm a guest speaker at a rehab unit, and talk within the Armed Forces when I'm called on. I have the BB by my bed, and I read it when I see a post here that inspires me to do so. I do my internal housekeeping. I keep these things close to me, to teach, me, keep me safe and guide me to not drink again. CM xxx

I know you believe that way. And am truly glad you have found a way to maintain your sobriety, I truly do. This is a democratic society and an open forum. You have just as much right to be here as any one. And I am fully aware that AA is not see all end all for everyone. AA even recognizes that...you know, take what you need and leave the rest? I find it unfortunate however that some of your comments are intentionally disruptive. For example:
"If God exists, I do not not believe that he requires me to belittle myself before him."
Please show me where God (if he exists) requires that action. I've never seen that in the Bible or the BB. I must be blind.

Gunthar, BTW, I really do enjoy talking to you. I admire anyone who knows what they believe and stands up for it. It makes for lively debate and hopefully opens doors on both sides. It's almost 4:00 here and I need to check on one of my job sites...I'll be back later.