I Been Working on the Railroad

Work:  Bodily or mental effort exerted to do or make something; purposeful activity; labor; toil.


This idea of work is something I'm careful to attend to.  There are so many levels of work, so much  variety in the idea of exerting effort that I had never considered.  I used to associate work with something unpleasant I had to do to make money so that I could show you how important I was.  I particularly like the idea of "purposeful" activity in this definition.


Purposeful:  Having a purpose (intention; aim; resolution; determination); determined; full of meaning.


I pay homage to the idea of Working the Steps.  I ask people all the time: "How's the Program treating you?"  Serenity Stan shot back once, tired of all the times I asked the question, obviously: "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Tell me about the work you're doing," I said.  "Tell me what kind of work you're doing on your recovery."


I think that there's working through the 12 Steps, sequentially and with purpose, for the first time. It's very important and it's relatively easy to mark your progress.  Then there's working the 12 Steps in more of a maintenance fashion.  I know I drifted off a little bit into self-sufficiency after my first successful foray through The Steps.  I remained active, attending meetings and being of service when possible, but I quit the steady effort needed to maintain my program.  I didn't grasp the idea of how to keep forging ahead.


My sponsor asked me some questions: "You know that phrase about 'restraint of tongue and pen'?"
"I LOVE that phrase, " I said.  "Of course,  I know it."
"What Step is it in?" he asked.


I had no idea.


"You know the idea of treating someone who behaves badly as if they were a sick person?" he continued.


I knew what was coming next so I kept my mouth shut, especially since he had just reminded me I didn't know which Step contained advice on how to keep my mouth shut.  I learned from this exercise that I needed to keep studying, to keep reviewing, to keep my mind open to new truths and hints.  Just because I had made it through the formal, official, progress-easily-tracked part of the Steps didn't mean the work was done.