Willingness and Action

“If asked what the two most important things in recovery are, I would have to say willingness and action. I was willing to believe that A.A. was telling me the truth. I wanted to believe it was true in a way I cannot relate in words. I wanted this thing to work. Then I began to take the course of action prescribed.” Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous pg 317I was so broken when I first walked in the doors of my first A.A. meeting, but what I saw when I walked through those doors is a sight I will never soon forget. A room full of people smiling. A room full of people laughing. A room full of people enjoying life. I thought they were full of it. Then I started listening.As I listened to the stories of the men and women in the rooms of A.A., I began to hear them tell my story. They spoke of the pain they felt, the bottoms they hit, and I began to hear the similarities. These were people who had been where I had been and had recovered. While still recovering from an incurable disease, they had recovered from a hopeless state of mind.I truly believe that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is the common thread that has renewed everyone in that rooms lease on life. I wanted what they had, so I had to do what they did. By believing in them, I became willing to do the work that was suggested. By working through the 12-Steps, I was awarded a spiritual freedom and began to see the Promises of Alcoholics Anonymous come true in my life, all because I was willing to take action and do the work of those who came before me.