Since joining Alcoholics Anonymous back in 2015, I have often marvelled at how its 12 steps have transformed the lives of many desperate, seemingly hopeless individuals. Time and time again I find myself thinking how much everyone could benefit from carrying out these steps, alcoholic or otherwise, and, since we are now facing a global crisis, there seems to be no better time than this to spread the word.
This lockdown has been a bit like a period of enforced spirituality, a time to retreat (I prefer that word to ‘isolate’) and reflect on our actions and behaviour. It has given us an opportunity to revert to the most basic form of living and enjoy the simple things, without being plagued by adverts for sofa sales, invitations to unnecessarily extravagant parties, heavy traffic and toxic pollution. The effect that lockdown has had on the environment is undoubtedly one of the most positive things about it; the air is cleaner, the water clearer, and animals have begun reclaiming their territory. Perhaps as a species, we have learned to tread more softly on this earth. However, I believe we still have a lot to learn and these next few months will be testing. In this article, I have outlined how each of the 12 steps works and how they can be applied to society as a whole in these bizarre, uncertain times.
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
The principle of this step: Honesty
How this can be applied to society as a whole
Simply remove the words “over alcohol” from this sentence - we are all powerless. After all, none of us could have predicted that a global pandemic would grind virtually everything to a halt just three months into the year, causing such a major upheaval. We cannot manage our lives the way we are so used to doing and finally we’re being forced to realise just how little control we actually have. This may seem like a horrifying prospect, but realising that we are powerless brings enormous relief. Our collective obsession with power and control is merely an attempt to minimise the inevitable uncertainty of life; surrender is the act of embracing it.
Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
The principle of this step: Honesty
How this can be applied to society as a whole
This step is about developing a faith in something outside of ourselves, a Power that will guide us down the right path, should we stop fighting and surrender to it. There is a brilliant line in the core piece of AA literature which states that “Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake.” Once we become convinced of this, we will be able to reach a place of acceptance and put our energy to better use than worrying constantly about the current situation. The result will be more space for calmness, creativity, joy and constructive thoughts.
Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
The principle of this step: Hope
How this can be applied to society as a whole
We can choose to hand over the reins to a Power greater than ourselves and learn to go with the flow. To me, turning our will and our lives over means we stop trying to make things happen in a particular way and let them unfold in the way they are supposed to, whether or not that suits us. It also means we cease attempting to predict the future and stay in the day, for as we have seen, things are constantly changing — is there a single person out there whose plans have not been scuppered as a result of Coronavirus? I think not. This just shows how futile it is to try and control our lives to the extent that we do.
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
The principle of this step: Courage
How this can be applied to society as a whole
We have been forced to slow down and spend time with ourselves; what better opportunity to really look inside? This step involves digging deep to discover the true nature of our character and identify any defects that are standing in our way, which we do through examining our resentments, sexual conduct, harms done to others and perhaps most significantly right now, fears such as loneliness, financial insecurity, death and loss. The focus of this step is not to punish ourselves or make ourselves feel worse, but rather to gain greater self-awareness.
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
The principle of this step: Integrity
How this can be applied to society as a whole
It is one thing to acknowledge our shortcomings and quite another to admit them to someone else, which is the purpose of step 5. Having completed a moral inventory of ourselves, we go on to select someone we trust wholeheartedly and share our findings with them, giving us the opportunity to unload our burdens of the past and move forward. Though this may seem daunting, it is necessary if there is to be any hope of creating a positive future for our society, something which can not be achieved if we are stuck in the past. Completing this step also results in a tremendous freedom and lightness, so long as we stay true to ourselves and are painstakingly honest.
Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
The principle of this step: Willingness
How this can be applied to society as a whole
The defects we identified in step 4 can now be given more attention. We are already aware which ones are preventing us from being our best and most useful selves, now we just need to become willing to let them go. As a society, the thing that is really holding us back is our individualistic culture, as we strive for personal needs to be met, putting the needs of our community second. There is a lovely line in another bit of AA literature which states: “The moment Twelfth-Step work forms a group, a discovery is made — that most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group.” It goes on to say that each individual must silence their “clamour of desires and ambitions” when these cause harm to the group as a whole. Now is a critical time for society to get ready to let go of these ego-driven ambitions so that we can come together and act for the greater good.
Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
The principle of this step: Humility
How this can be applied to society as a whole
This step involves asking for the defects that are causing us the most harm to be taken away. Admitting that certain shortcomings have become so great that we need to be rid of them completely, and asking for that to happen, takes great humility. They have been our lifeline for so long that they will not magically disappear overnight; we have to act as if they have been removed until we find that they genuinely have. Of course, these defects can rear their ugly heads again at any given moment but we can continue to ask for them to be removed, giving us a better chance to cope with whatever life throws at us this year.
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
The principle of this step: Love
How this can be applied to society as a whole
I’d like to believe that this lockdown period has helped many people appreciate what they have and realise what, or who, is really important to them. There are inevitably people to whom we owe an amend and, because life is too short and precious to neglect these amends, we can use this time to begin repairing broken relationships. To practice Step 8 means to compile a list of people we have harmed and become loving enough to ask each one how to put things right, as and when the opportunities present themselves.
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
The principle of this step: Responsibility
How this can be applied to society as a whole
By Step 9, we are ready to take responsibility for our wrongdoings by starting to make amends. There is a lot of power in making these amends in person, in completely exposing ourselves without the barrier of a computer screen or mobile phone, so if there are people on our list that we are still unable to make face-to-face contact with, it may be better to wait. Amends can also be made indirectly — by simply acknowledging and changing our behaviour, we are practicing step 9. We can demonstrate that we have learned from our mistakes and that we shall not repeat those behaviours that ruined relationships in the past.
Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
The principle of this step: Discipline
How this can be applied to society as a whole
On our quest to improve our consciousness, we go on monitoring our behaviour with ‘spot-check’ inventories and make instant amends where necessary. This is important for, as I mentioned before, our defective behaviours will no doubt resurface from time to time. If step 4 is a spiritual deep clean, you can view step 10 as a regular polishing, a way of keeping oneself spiritually fit and continually boosting self-awareness. Collectively, I believe practicing this step can help us function better together and become a stronger, more unified society.
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
The principle of this step: Awareness
How this can be applied to society as a whole
In her speech during lockdown, Queen Elizabeth stated: “Though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation.” This is the very nature of step 11; through sitting in prayer and meditation, we are able to increase our awareness and connect with the deepest parts of ourselves. Let’s not stop this practice now though, just because our lives are starting to get busy again. Prayer is a tool we can use at any time to ask for guidance and, through the silence of meditation, the answers often come.
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The principle of this step: Service
How this can be applied to society as a whole
There are two parts to this step: the first is about sharing our learnings and the immense joy we have experienced through completing the first eleven steps with others, giving them an opportunity to reap the same rewards. The second part refers to practicing the twelve principles in every aspect of our daily lives, meaning we strive to behave in a sober manner at all times, not just because it is more pleasant for the people around us but also because we will feel better for it. In AA, service is key to a healthy recovery and in our society, people who focus their energy on helping others benefit far more than those who are only interested in their own wellbeing.
These 12 steps can be carried out over and over again — we are never done and dusted. Someone in an AA meeting once compared them to living documents, which are continually edited and updated, an analogy that has stuck with me. For all of us, stepwork ought to be a continuous process that ends not when the world returns to “normal” (whatever that means) but when we leave it behind for good. Let us ensure we leave it a better place by continuing to make positive changes and showing others that they too can change the way they interact with the world.
P.s. It is about progress… not perfection.
