“Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol.” (Chapter Six, Big Book)
“Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend.” (Chapter One, Big Book)
“Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom.” (Chapter Five, Big Book)
To go to any length, I start by going to one length and then
build up from there.
That means taking one thing, doing it properly, and doing it
every day.
It might be going to the 7.00 a.m. morning meditation daily.
It might be having my camera on at that meeting. I might be asking God to
direct my thinking. It might be doing a Step Eleven review. It might be taking
or returning on the same day every single incoming AA call. It might be saying
a particular set prayer daily.
Take one thing. Do that. No deviation.
Inconsistency with important and manifestly good habits
suggests atheism: it shows I’m still listening to the devil, who tempts me to
divert from a perfectly good path. Just one deviation means I’ve not
surrendered: I’m taking the action when I think it’s warranted, not because
I’ve committed, come what may.
Surrender means surrendering the right to retract the
surrender, surrendering the right to decide.
If one stone is missing from the arch, the arch collapses.