Back when the Big Book was being written, Dr. Silkworth, who wrote the Dr’s. Opinion, said something profound. He said that if we wanted to stay sober, all we would have to do was to stop drinking and follow a few simple rules.
When I came in, I remember that I couldn’t understand what everyone was talking about. I was hearing about going to meetings, getting a sponsor, reading the Big Book, praying, getting a Higher Power, and working the steps. Then when I did read the Dr’s. Opinion, I finally got the idea of what was wrong with me. He explained the disease concept and it made sense. Finally I had one thing down. I had a disease and wasn’t a weak willed immoral human being. And then I read about following a few simple rules. But nothing seemed simple.
I didn’t want to drink and indeed I didn’t crave a drink anymore. But I still wasn’t sure I could stay sober. I was full of worry, fear, anxieties, and a lot of crazy thinking. I also was full of anger and resentments. Yet the idea of all those steps seemed and overwhelming hill to climb. I doubted that I was up to it. My head complicated everything. Nothing seemed simple.
As I read the Big Book, it seemed to get more complicated. Getting a God of your understanding, developing a faith, turning my life and will over to God’s care, an inventory of my faults, confessing my wrongs, developing trust in others, it seemed to go on and on. Where were these simple rules?
Somehow I finally got through all of this. Don’t ask me how. It took a few years. But I still had all this complicated thinking and it blocked me from seeing this program as simple. I was still analyzing almost every word and thought.
Things were getting better, but there seemed to be this slogging along.
One day, when going through the Big Book the umpteenth time, I saw something I had missed. It said something to the effect that we were to trust God, clean house, and work with others. That was simple. It explained the whole program in three phrases. There it was. The simple rules the doctor had told us we had to practice. Why hadn’t I seen this before?
Recently a friend of mine sent me a photostat from the prescription pad of Dr. Bob. He had written it as a prescription for all acoholics. 1, 2, 3. The same words. Trust God, clean house, and work with others. It stopped me and made me think about the process I had gone through in all these years.
When I was finally able to realize this for the first time it came as a relief. It was like a fresh breeze blowing through; like someone had opened a window and let the sunlight in. It is indeed a simple program. It made working the steps a simple solution to what is wrong with me and let me know why I kept on drinking. But, more than that, I found, when the clutter of my complicated thinking was shunted aside, just how deeply spiritual this program is. It showed me that all my problems can be solved by a spiritual answer. All I had to do was get out of the way.
Today I was thinking about this. A few simple rules; stop drinking, trust God, clean house, and work with others. Not easy, but simple.