“The point is, that we were willing to grow along spiritual lines.” (BB p.60) – This may be our Mission Statement.
The twelfth step may be our Statement of Purpose and has three points, 1) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, 2) we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and 3) to practice these principles in all of our affairs.
The path for accomplishing Purpose number one occurs when we work steps 1-11 precisely as detailed in the book from THE DOCTOR’S OPINION (8 pages) through INTO ACTION (88 pages). The details for accomplishing Purpose number two is found in Chapter 7, WORKING WITH OTHERS (15 pages). Therefore, the plan for purpose number three – practicing these principles in all of our affairs, must be contained in the last four chapters (60 pages).
I too often hear people say they have worked all of the steps, but they have not sponsored as much as one person. I also hear people refer to the twelfth step as service, but they fail to mention sponsorship and by watching their actions, they hardly practice the principles in all of their affairs.
If I simply review the number of pages dedicated to each step, the twelfth step occupies 75 of the 172 pages of the recovery portion of the book, or 41 %. If I have completed steps 1-11, I have only accomplished 59% of the purpose, and if I sponsor one person, I still only accomplish 65% of the purpose of the program. So, the practicing the principles in all my affairs is where I actually become whole again.
My experience was that until I actually started sponsoring others, and fully understood what it means to truly practice the principles in my home (TO WIVES and the FAMILY AFTERWARD), occupation (TO EMPLOYERS), and affairs (A VISION FOR YOU), I did not have a contented life with the potential to for permanent recovery. Once I was willing to practice the principles in all of my affairs, growing along spiritual lines just happened.
-Anonymous