Elementary — Addition is not the same as Multiplication; Abstinence is not the same as Sobriety — Anonymous

The 12-Step design for living is elementary. Why, then, once having accepted powerlessness, once having the compulsion lifted, is it such a challenge to maintain? The answer lies in the foundation of an elementary education. In our beginning math classes, we learned numbers and addition. Among the first lessons was that 2+2=4. This was easy enough. Then came multiplication and, here, one of our first lessons was that 2×2=4. The students lacking interest may believe, in seeing the exact same outcome, that they understand everything. They may smile, nod “yes,” and agree to explanations, only to be sorely humiliated on a test. All at once, the wrinkled brows of parents and teachers discourage these students, leaving them feeling like a “math-invalid.” In truth, the only problem was a simple rush of the basics. This can be swiftly corrected with proper guidance and tools, like flash cards. Newly sober alcoholics may fall into the trap of believing, after a few days, weeks or months of abstinence, that they are sober. Much like the children who answer the question, “What is 2×2?” correctly, believe they understand the multiplication process entirely, these alcoholics believe they have mastered sobriety. Humility – turning over one’s own will in exchange for God’s – is not an overnight deal. Our ineptitude in the area of humility is revealed and tested through circumstances, seasons, tragedies and joy, so it requires time to develop humility. We can move through to Steps 4 and 5, not having entire perfection of Step 3. But the 12 Steps, like elementary mathematics, are an aggregation – each one builds on the step before it. We cannot skip a step, nor can we stand still. It is a dynamic process where we apply our new-found humility, to the best of our ability, in Step 4. When we write our 4th Step, we cannot simply jump to the 5th column and concede that we live in self-centered fear; nor can we jump to the 7th Step and beg God to remove it. This can be equated to those students believing they understand addition and multiplication when, in fact, they have command of neither. We must properly work the 4th Step to “root out” the nature of our character defects. We must see how our fears impact our behavior, our choices, and our interaction with others. Like the root of a garden weed, our defects rarely lie directly under the surface of our troubles; they crawl and twist their way to the surface, almost as if to confuse the path of its source. In spite of this, they are firmly gripped below, needing only the triggers of life experience to resurface and infest the garden, once again. Proper investigation in Step 4 reveals that what seem like our troubles are, in fact, mere distractions, while those issues we denied are so often the source of our misery. A person who properly maintains the garden will take the proper tools and patiently extract the root of a weed, repeating the exercise on an ongoing basis. As tools, the 4th and 10th Steps, thoroughly and consistently done, will maintain one’s sobriety. For this alcoholic, Joe & Charlie – with their gentle and humorous demeanor, their passionate belief in the program, their Big Book study – is the flash card set, the tool, I needed to understand the process and discover sobriety, and it is the way I will continue to carry this message. I’ll do so because I am so grateful for my sobriety, and I truly believe that, if I can get sober, any person can.