Feb 2 

Written By Ryan Alphonso

STEP TWO: CAME TO BELIEVE THAT A POWER GREATER THAN OURSELVES COULD RESTORE US TO SANITY.

The second step of Alcoholics Anonymous calls for the alcoholic to accept that there is no cure for their alcoholism, and the only mend is belief that a higher power, a power greater than themself, can act as a means of treatment. 

For many, this can be a rather difficult concept to grasp. How is a belief in the intangible, something we can’t see or touch, meant to help us recover? 

The concept of a higher power looks different for everyone. Some choose to believe in God, others in the forces of nature or an unseen force. In any case, the idea of a higher power is trusting in something that we cannot control, as our previous attempts to control our own lives and behaviors have led us to our current unfortunate states. 

This belief acts as a guide to allow us to release control and allow us to come to believe that we cannot trust our own thinking and this trust is better placed in something greater than ourselves. By coming to accept our individual higher powers, we then place our will and lives in the hands of this force and allow ourselves to release control, becoming willing to accept change.

Hope is the principal we learn to have through practicing Step 2