My Uncle Bill was a lion in AA. He believed Step One was the foundation of a sober life. His metaphor was apt.
Let’s think about foundations.
Digging a hole is a builder’s first step in building a foundation. The builder digs until he reaches the bottom he needs. Then he stops digging.
Digging a hole in our lives is the first thing we do to build our Recovery.
We spend years digging our holes. Car accidents, divorces, arrests, and bankruptcies are all part of the hole-digging exercise. We persist in our digging with our drinking and bad behaviours until we reach the bottom we need. Then, we stopped digging.
Next, our builder makes his foundation forms. He builds forms to hold the concrete with his carpentry tools and rough timbers. Then, he pours the concrete, which will cure and become the foundation for the building to come.
For our Recovery, we use the rough timbers of acceptance, admission, and sponsorship to build spiritual forms. Into these spiritual forms, we pour the love of the Fellowship, which will cure and become the foundation for our sober life.
The builder continues after the concrete has cured. He uses the same saws, hammers, and nails he used to build the forms for the foundation. But instead of the rough carpentry, his carpentry is finer and better.
In our Recovery, we use the same tools we used to build our spiritual forms, but we have used them before and now use them more effectively. We continue to build the spiritual home we will occupy.
The foundation and building processes are the same for building a house or a new sober life: Dig a hole, stop digging, build the forms, fill the forms, and let the concrete/love cure.
Then, pick up the tools and continue the work.
Bill was on to a good thing.
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