Acceptance in the Big Book

To Christ I conceded the certainty of a great man, not too closely followed by those who claimed Him.

Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat.

I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost.

I expressed my entire willingness to approach these individuals, admitting my wrong.

These were revolutionary and drastic proposals, but the moment I fully accepted them, the effect was electric.

We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help.

M ost of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics.

We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics.

Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums—we could increase the list ad infinitum.

But even in this type of beginning we are obliged to admit that our justification for a spree was insanely insufficient in the light of what always happened.

We, who have been through the wringer, have to admit if we substituted alcoholism for jay-walking, the illustration would fit us exactly.

We admit we have some of these symptoms, but we have not gone to the extremes you fellows did, nor are we likely to, for we understand ourselves so well after what you have told us that such things cannot happen again.

Far from admitting he was an alcoholic, he told himself he came to the hospital to rest his nerves.

Fred would not believe himself an alcoholic, much less accept a spiritual remedy for his problem.

He was interested and conceded that he had some of the symptoms, but he was a long way from admitting that he could do nothing about it himself.

I had to concede both propositions.

As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps.

Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which then seemed entirely out of reach.

It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built.* That was great news to us, for we had assumed we could not make use of spiritual principles unless we accepted many things on faith which seemed difficult to believe.

But I cannot accept as surely true the many articles of faith which are so plain to him.’’ So it was comforting to learn that we could commence at a simpler level.

Besides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, * Please be sure to read Appendix II on “Spiritual Experience.”

Why this ready acceptance?

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol— that our lives had become unmanageable. 2.

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11.

Admitting he may be somewhat at fault, he is sure that other people are more to blame.

We admitted our wrongs honestly and were willing to set these matters straight.

We have admitted certain defects; we have ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is; we have put our finger on the weak items in our personal inventory.

This requires action on our part, which, when completed, will mean that we have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our defects.

We think we have done well enough in admitting these things to ourselves.

Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable?

It may be he has done us more harm than we have done him and, though we may have acquired a better attitude toward him, we are still not too keen about admitting our faults.

We have already admitted this in con­ fidence to another person, but we are sure we would be imprisoned or lose our job if it were known.

We suggested he write his first wife admitting his faults and asking forgiveness.

While drinking, he accepted a sum of money from a bitterly-hated business rival, giving him no receipt for it.

Undoubtedly we should admit our fault.

You will soon have your friend admitting he has many, if not all, of the traits of the alcoholic.

tirely admitted his condition, he has become very curious to know how you got well.

Admit that he probably knows more about it than you do, but call to his attention the fact that however deep his faith and knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink.

You are sure to find someone desperate enough to accept with eagerness what you offer.

Should they accept and practice spiritual principles, there is a much better chance that the head of the family will recover.

Little by little the family may see their own defects and admit them.

We find the more one member of the family demands that the others concede to him, the more resentful they become.

This may hang on for months, long after their mother has accepted dad’s new way of living and thinking.

He admitted he was overdoing these things, but frankly said that he was not ready to stop.

He had to painfully admit that and mend his spiritual fences.

Without much ado, he accepted the principles and procedure that had helped us.

If you concede that your employee is ill, can he be forgiven for what he has done in the past?

In fact, he may say almost anything if he has accepted our solution which, as you know, demands rigorous honesty.

A spiritual experience, he conceded, was absolutely necessary, but the price seemed high upon the basis suggested.

Why, he argued, should he lose the remainder of his business, only to bring still more suffering to his family by foolishly admitting his plight to people from whom he made his livelihood?

Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows.