May 20: Relieve Me of the Bondage of Self

Relieve Me of the Bondage of Self

I think that line in the Third Step prayer is one of the most provocative lines ever written. Whenever I read it I picture myself in shackles and chains, trying desperately to free myself. Once I start drinking those shackles and chains wrap around me as if by some magical force and I take myself hostage.

For me the shackles and chains are a metaphor for a disease of the mind so insidious it wants to either kill me or drive me to complete insanity.

I’ve heard it said that alcoholism is the only prison where the key to freedom is on the inside.

What do those shackles and chains represent to you and how do you use the program to break free?