91: Half Measures Avail Us Nothing

WEBVTT
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.399
21 years clean and sober.
00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:03.600
It's been a day at a time.
00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:05.040
It's been a meeting at a time.
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:06.879
It's been a triumph at a time.
00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:08.480
It's been a tragedy at a time.
00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:09.679
It's been a prayer at a time.
00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.720
This is the Addiction Recovery Podcast with Steven T.
00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:16.640
Ginsburg, founder of Restore Detox Centers in Sunny, California.
00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:18.719
Enjoy your experience.
00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:26.000
Steven, so good to be back together with you today.
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:31.039
There's this phrase I've heard you say before half measures avail us nothing.
00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:39.439
And I'm sure you're talking about people that like put half of their heart into recovery or just effort or action, whatever it is.
00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.039
And I want to hear more from you.
00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:45.679
And that's where I want to kick things off with is just this whole idea about half measures.
00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:46.880
What are you talking about?
00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:48.000
Steve, thank you.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:53.520
This is a topic that is absolutely near and dear to my heart.
00:00:53.520 --> 00:01:08.959
And this is very traditional, old school, foundational AA speak, and it holds true and it holds up even as we sit 91 years later at the inception of this fellowship.
00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:16.079
You know, in the big book, there is a specific chapter called How It Works.
00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:18.159
It's chapter five in the big book.
00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:26.959
And in that chapter, that chapter starts out saying, rarely have we seen a person fail who's thoroughly followed our path.
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:31.840
It goes on to say in that same chapter that half measures availed us nothing.
00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:33.120
We stood at the turning point.
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:36.159
We asked his protection and care with complete abandon.
00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:44.480
I think what's important there as a talking point is you can't do some of it, but not all of it.
00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:49.599
There was no moderation for myself in my drinking and drugging.
00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:53.760
There can be no moderation for myself in my recovery.
00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.480
Now that I've done me, I want to go to the we.
00:01:56.480 --> 00:02:12.639
For those of us who are in pursuit of curing that spiritual malady and treating that spiritual malady a day at a time, half measures in this fellowship will literally deliver no results.
00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:15.680
You can't do some of it and expect any of it.
00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:23.840
And if we want what people have in the rooms that we see that have walked ahead of us, we do what we do, what they do, and we get what they get.
00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:29.840
And it's inclusive of everything and anything that leads to that ongoing remission and reprieve.
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:35.199
So when you when you're saying that, I mean, is it the same concept of like you can't be half pregnant?
00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:56.719
Like you can't just like you can't be like half in with recovery, where you're like, okay, tell you what, I'm gonna, you know, I'm just I'm I'm only gonna drink maybe one day a week instead of getting wasted every night, or I'm gonna do the the California sober life or whatever it's called that that you guys reference out there is I'm gonna just smoke weed and it's it's better than doing cocaine.
00:02:56.719 --> 00:03:07.919
Right now you're referring to, or I mean it could even go as far as like, you know, I'll do a meeting this week, but next week I'm gonna be out of town, so I'll skip next week and I'm in a meeting the following.
00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:11.680
So okay, yeah, I'll skip the next two, but then I'll get caught up at the end of the month.
00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:12.719
Is that what you're referring to?
00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:12.960
Right?
00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.599
That and then yes.
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:21.599
So, first of all, yes, and then secondarily on that yes, because I'm not just yesing you.
00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:23.520
We also don't have the ability.
00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.719
Like, if all we're gonna do is go to meetings, it's not gonna work.
00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:30.960
Is if all we're gonna do is get a sponsor and work with a sponsor, it's not gonna work.
00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:35.120
What half measures availed us, nothing pertains to is this.
00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:41.520
We have that conception of a power greater than ourself, we have that individual with working knowledge of steps in our life.
00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.199
That's a sponsor.
00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:47.599
I believe in a meeting a day because there was never a day where I didn't get drunk or loaded.
00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:59.039
We work all 12 steps, and those 12 steps work in our life, and they produce and provide a psychic change, and they produce and provide our spiritual awakening, and then we are of service.
00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:04.240
Those five facets comprise the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and sobriety.
00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:05.919
It's not an omelet bar.
00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:07.759
We don't get to have some of this and some of that.
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.159
We do all of it, or we get none of it.
00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:15.199
And we did an episode a while back, and I can't remember the specifics on this, but how long has AA been around?
00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.240
They just celebrated like 91 years.
00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:19.680
Yeah, so 91 years.
00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:35.680
So I'd imagine over the 91 years, they've been able to refine their program, maybe make some tweaks here, see what works, see what doesn't work, eliminate this, add that, whatever it may be, to really get like a really solid transformational program.
00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:41.920
And you know, it's rooted in like principles of like the gospel of God, right?
00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:46.160
So I think it's been tried and tested and it and it's true.
00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.959
Obviously, it worked for millions of people.
00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:54.480
So I imagine like they figure they like they figure this out.
00:04:54.480 --> 00:05:00.079
So it's like if you just work the steps, if you work the program, then the transformation happens.
00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:05.600
But I'm sure some people come into it and they're like, well, I mean, maybe I don't need a sponsor.
00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:11.600
It's kind of like awkward talking to a sponsor, but I'll do meetings, but it doesn't work when you don't do the full thing.
00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:13.839
Again, spot on.
00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:19.439
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.
00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:35.120
The founders proclaimed that if they were going to redo anything, they would have written that never have we seen never's a big word in recovery because we don't do never, but they would have proclaimed never have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:39.680
I've had a chance in my own life, Steve, to live that part of the testimony.
00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:42.720
And I want to lend my voice to it for a moment.
00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:45.439
I was I got sober when I was 19.
00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:47.839
I was sober for 12 years.
00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.120
I stopped working a program, I relapsed.
00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:56.720
And what I mean by stopped working a program, the entirety of what the program is, I was no longer working it.
00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.560
I could not, did not, and would not stay sober.
00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:02.319
And I had a five-year relapse.
00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:07.040
I came back, I made it back to the program, November 12, 2004.
00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:13.920
I've been sober each day, a day at a time, including this day, doing the same thing on a daily basis.
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:24.240
The things we've just covered, the things that are written in the book, the things that they're prescribing and describing when they say half measures availed us nothing.
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:26.160
We stood at the turning point.
00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:27.759
I stood at that turning point.
00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:29.360
Was I going to choose life or death?
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:30.079
I chose life.
00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:31.360
I worked my program today.
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:35.439
I don't know which one of those five things I said to you works or keeps me sober.
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:38.480
So I choose to do all five of them on a daily basis.
00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:39.040
Yeah.
00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:40.160
Well, and it's interesting.
00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:42.240
I was talking to my mom about this the other day.
00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:52.240
When it comes to just things in life, it requires an extraordinary amount of effort to become really proficient or really good at anything.
00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:58.000
And like the older I get to realize that, you know, it just takes like so much effort.
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:04.560
And even like working out, we've talked about this before in other episodes too, where it's like, how long have you been working out, Steven?
00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:09.759
My gosh, I don't know if since I was 18, I'm gonna be 57 years old, brother.
00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:15.199
Yeah, so it's like it's ridiculous to believe that we're gonna go to the gym.
00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:18.560
You've never worked, you haven't worked out in the last 20 years.
00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.839
You go to the gym for one month, and we've seen these people in the gym, right?
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.680
They're they're good entertainment.
00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:36.879
They're there, they're grabbing the 50 pounders, they're curling it, you know, breathing hard, they're making all these loud noises, they're slamming their weights down, and they do that for two or three weeks, and then they're like, you know what, this isn't working out.
00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:39.120
I'm not seeing any results, right?
00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.040
Oh, I hurt my arm or whatever it is.
00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:45.279
It's like, yeah, because you come in and you think you're gonna get fit in three weeks.
00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:45.759
Amen.
00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:52.160
It's a very it's like with me, it's like I've been working out the same, same as you.
00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.199
I think I started working out when I was like 13.
00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:56.800
That's probably why I'm so short.
00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:05.600
I probably extended my growth, but nonetheless, I've I've worked out almost like every day, with uh you know a few gaps here and there, but pretty much every day my whole life.
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:10.879
And it's like it took me 30 years to get fit, not 30 days.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:15.920
And I think the same thing is true with like being sober and just the life of recovery.
00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:20.079
It's like you've been sober for how long now since your last relapse?
00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:23.120
21 years, eight months, and some days.
00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:29.519
Yeah, and it's like over those years, over two decades, how many times have you missed a meeting?
00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.879
I I don't think I can count it on one hand, honestly.
00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:41.759
Yeah, not exactly count on one hand, and you just do it, you just you do it again over and over again, yes, and I get to do it.
00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:45.440
It's not have to, it's not want to, it's get to.
00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:47.600
Yeah, that I love, I love it.
00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.120
That's a better way to say it.
00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:51.600
And I'm gonna just do some math because we're we're nerds here.
00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:53.519
365 times 21.
00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:58.879
You've been to 7,000 meetings.
00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:00.559
Yeah, it's been a lot of meetings.
00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:08.879
7,700 meetings, a lot of talking about your sobriety, celebrating your sobriety, sharing your story with other people.
00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:22.159
I mean, it's I mean, and and I think that's I love that's the beautiful thing about our message today, is just like you can't just like be half in, you just have to like do it, just do it the whole thing, and I want to tell you one thing relating to that.
00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:23.279
You triggered me, so thank you.
00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.080
Good job.
00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.879
Listen, I because I was looking at this the other day.
00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:35.840
I have I have in my possession my 24-hour chip from my first day back sober again after my relapse.
00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:44.639
I physically have that in my possession, and it's in good shape, and I've taken care of it and I look at it often because that was that first day.
00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:48.799
I didn't wake up 21 years clean and sober.
00:09:48.799 --> 00:10:00.720
It's been a day at a time, it's been a meeting at a time, it's been a triumph at a time, it's been a tragedy at a time, it's been a prayer at a time, but it has worked, the promises have come true, but I am willing to do my part.
00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:07.600
And if I don't do my part, my disease is waiting, cunning, baffling, powerful, persistent patient.
00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:13.919
And I suffer from a progressive illness, it will come back worse than it did both times before.
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:16.000
And this time it will finish the job.
00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:17.840
And I remain aware of that today.
00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:27.279
And what I want people who are listening to do and to know is that we are here to remain aware of that together a day at a time.
00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:27.840
Amen.
00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:29.360
No half measures.
00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.480
It's it's been great doing another episode with you, Stephen.
00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:34.080
Steve, thank you so much.
00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:37.759
Uh, if you're out there, if you have questions, we want to hear from you.
00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:39.120
We want to know you.
00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:40.320
We are for you.
00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:41.039
We love you.
00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:42.960
Everyone, have a safe and sober day.