When we first came into our respective programs, we were beaten. We were out of new ideas, and we were largely past the point of arguing. When our new Program friends suggested that we work the first three Steps and not worry overmuch about whether they made sense, we did as they recommended. We were not very smart in those days, and we were relatively content to follow their simple directions, even though we could not see much connection between our problems and the course of action they advocated.

Then the years passed, and we got better and a whole lot smarter. When, though, we started to wonder whether there was more to the 12-Step program than just working Steps 4 thru 9 over and over again, we discovered that in Steps 10, 11 and 12 we were back at the beginning once more. Our years of recovery apparently did not mean that we were going to "get off easy." We found that a meaningful approach to Ten, Eleven and Twelve required just as much effort and faith as we had displayed all those years before when we first came into Program.

Once more, we find ourselves to be much less smart than we thought we were. Once more, we have to become willing to follow directions, sometimes without any real understanding of their purpose.