What Step One means to me is that, without a complete change in what I believe, how I think, and how I act, I will drink again, and, if I drink, I may never stop
Powerlessness means that I'm trapped in a fatal progression, like a runaway train
Guilt implies responsibility, and responsibility implies agency: the ability to determine my own actions
Powerlessness implies the opposite: the inability to determine my own actions
With alcoholism, although I'm powerless, I'm not helpless
I can't 'not drink' but I can indeed take actions that give me the power not to drink
That's like not being able to lift up a concrete block but being able to get into a crane to lift up the concrete block
In this analogy, getting into the crane means adopting a structured programme of action that literally changes how my mind works
Meetings are the departure lounge, not the trip
I have to take the trip to get well
So, it's more reasonable, after a slip, to recognise powerlessness: given my state of consciousness at the time, I had no choice but to drink
That recognition forms the basis for real progress, namely asking: What do I have to do to change my state of consciousness so that staying sober rather than drinking becomes automatic?