F

ACCEPT A HIGHER POWER

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself.

—ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

or nearly a hundred years, one of the most difficult steps in the
twelve steps of “recovery” has not been producing a fearless
moral inventory of one’s failings or the making of amends. It’s not
admitting you have a problem, finding a sponsor, or attending
meetings.
The step that many addicts—particularly the ones who fancy
themselves thinkers—struggle with intensely is the acknowledgment
of the existence of a higher power. They just don’t want to admit that
they “have come to believe a Power greater than themselves could
restore them to sanity.”
This seemingly simple step is hard, but not because the world has
become increasingly secular since Alcoholics Anonymous’s founding
in 1935. In fact, one of the founders of AA was, in his words, a
“militant agnostic.” Acknowledging a higher power is difficult
because submitting to anything other than their own desires is
anathema to what one addict describes as the “pathological self-
centeredness” of addiction.
“I don’t believe in God” is the most common objection to Step 2.
“There’s no evidence of a higher power,” they say. “Look at evolution.
Look at science.” Or they might question what the hell any of this has
to do with sobriety anyway. Can’t they just stop using drugs and