“The spark that was to flare into the first A.A. group was struck at Akron, Ohio, in June 1935, during a talk between a New York stockbroker and an Akron physician.” (Foreword to the Second Edition, Big Book)
For something to catch fire, it must be dry.
Once I was dry of alcohol, and my own ideas ran dry, I caught fire in AA automatically. Fire needs only (a) appropriate conditions (dryness) and (b) proximity.
When twelfth-step work feels like hard work, and the message is not going in, the person is not dry. Pause and return when they’re dry.