For those of us in recovery, it might seem pretty obvious to say that the Twelve Steps are a solution. Of course they are! Even when we are very new to recovery, the Steps are presented to us as a solution to the deadly disease of alcoholism and addiction. We are told right away that these steps are our solution. Of course, many of us have a hard time swallowing that until we get some firsthand experience with the Twelve Steps ourselves. Once we have begun the process, we begin to see the truth and we come to know the Steps as the solution to our alcoholism and addiction.
But is this the extent of problems that the Twelve Steps can help us solve? Hardly. In fact, for most of those who have been active in recovery for some time, the Steps come to be known as the solution for all life’s problems. Indeed, treating the Twelve Steps as a solution to all our problems is often the hallmark of working an active recovery program. After all, we aren’t suffering from the disease of alcoholism and addiction on certain days — we suffer from the disease all the time, unless we stay in the solution. So, let’s take a closer look at the Steps as a solution to everything.
The Obvious Answer
We’ve touched on this a little already, but the Twelve Steps are absolutely the solution to the disease of alcoholism and addiction. Why? The disease is of a three-fold nature: the physical allergy, the mental obsession, and the spiritual malady. The Steps are designed to address all three areas by producing the necessary psychic change and vital spiritual experience that brings about freedom and recovery from the disease. The Twelve Steps provide a solution to this deadly disease for so many who are willing to do the work.
The Twelve Steps also help us every step along the way in our recovery. Working the Steps on our disease helps us manage sobriety and provides us a thriving recovery. The first time we go through the steps, we are doing work almost exclusively on our disease — and the work works! If you’ve had hands-on experience working the Twelve Steps, you know this to be true. But what if we go beyond the disease? Can the Steps provide solutions to problems other than alcoholism and addiction? (Hint: They can.)
Life and the Disease
After working all Twelve Steps and living in recovery for a time, we may begin to notice something interesting about our lives and our disease. We may begin to see that our disease really came to encompass our life, and that the two are almost inseparable without the Steps. Our disease takes over our lives prior to recovery, but even in recovery we don’t ever get cured of alcoholism and addiction. What the Twelve Steps and the 12-Step lifestyle provide us is a daily reprieve that’s contingent upon the maintenance of our spiritual condition. We perform this daily maintenance by working the Steps and living the recovery way of life. As long as we keep this up, we are able to keep our recovery.
What this means for us is that we will always be alcoholics and addicts, but we can live in recovery from the disease for as long as we remain willing to practice the program. We find the freedom required to live our lives by working the program of recovery. We will always have the disease, but we can also always receive the daily reprieve.
Real Solutions
What does this mean for our lives? Well, it means that we have the best chance at living our best life by remaining active in the Twelve Steps and the recovery way of life. It means that without the program, we may once again be dominated by our disease and possibly lose our lives as so many others have. But it also means that we have the solution to all our life’s problems right there in front of us. The Steps will provide us freedom and recovery from our disease, but they will do so much more for us if we let them.
Many of those in recovery for some time have found how wonderful the Twelve Steps can be when brought into all aspects of our lives. In fact, the literature says that in order to maintain recovery, we ought to practice the principles of recovery in all our affairs. This beautifully simple mandate pays dividends that are more wonderful than we can imagine. We don’t just work the Steps on our alcoholism and addiction. We start there, but soon we can see the value of applying the principles of the Steps into every area of our lives, as the literature encourages us to do.
The Twelve Steps can help us learn, grow, and thrive in every realm of life. We can take these principles into our jobs and careers, into our homes, and into all our relationships from friendships to significant others. We can work the Twelve Steps in our love life, our work life, and our home life. We can work the Steps on all our fears, all our resentments, and all our relationship conduct. The impact of doing this is quite amazing to behold.
Jaywalker Lodge wholeheartedly believes in the transformative and life-saving power of the Twelve Steps. That’s precisely why we are founded on the 12-Step program of recovery. Beginning work on the Steps and taking the time to truly understand them is a vital part of the initial Jaywalker approach. Continuing work on the Twelve Steps and incorporating the recovery lifestyle completely into our lives is a recipe for thriving success and long-term recovery. The Steps not only help us find freedom and recovery from our disease in the form of lasting sobriety, but they help us grow, repair, learn, and succeed in every other aspect of our lives as long as we apply the methods and principles that the Twelve Steps teach us. If you’re ready to begin this wonderful journey with us, Jaywalker Lodge is here to help you. To learn more about our programs for men, call us now at (866) 529-9255.
