The emphasis of my 12 Step work must be upon God and His will. I must be careful that I do not lean too heavily on my own efforts or on the 12 Step fellowship. Here is a visual to describe this.I had often heard the 5 things to do to stay sober (particularly when exiting a treatment center). They are usually some variation of these.
- Go to Meetings
- Get a Sponsor
- Read the Big Book
- Pray and Meditate (or Work The Steps)
- Do Service Work (or Help Others)
The pyramid illustrates how much power I get from them. The largest part of the pyramid is the base, in service and the steps. The smallest parts of the pyramid are meetings and sponsor.
The power I get through doing the work is most effective if I am doing it in the spirit of service to God and others. This is where most of my efforts should be. At the beginning I was upside down in that most of my time was spent in meetings and with my sponsor and the Big Book. Later I often got this upside down in continuing to place my dependence mostly upon making meetings and asking my sponsor to solve my problems. To keep my experience alive and healthy (vital), I must be of maximum service to God and my fellows so I must get the pyramid right side up.
A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, "a design for living" that really works.
There is a Solution, page 28
