The Beginnings of a Way of Life! (Part 3)

Steps to the Spirit

This week we’re going to talk about the next in a group of list tidbits that I have found connected to the Oxford group.

This particular tidbit is called “The Five C’s”. Here is the list

1. Conviction

2. Confession

3. Contrition

4. Conversion

5. Continuing

So, I believe the first thing we have to remember, is that this list was probably written in the early 1900s. In today’s language we might refer to number 1 as “yeah I did that”, number 2 as “hey, can I talk to you about something?”, number 3, “I’m sorry I did that”, number 4, I think “I’ll try this Your way”, and number 5, “hey, I like this way to live and I’m going to keep doing it!”.

So, once again, if you are thinking anything like I’m thinking, these five C’s are certainly going to trigger a connection to the steps. Of course, by definition, they are nowhere near as wordy or explanatory as the steps are, but they certainly do lead us in the same direction. If I allow them to, they can ring in my head of that old time religion, but of course, if I’m being honest with myself, that interpretation would be a cop-out. After all, especially for me, being a Catholic, the words confession and contrition certainly hit pretty hard. But I am not ruled by any church or religious doctrine at this time in my life. I have decided, as a result of learning and using these 12 steps that my spirit is my guide. After all, I do this confession and contrition on a daily basis in the 10th step. I continue to take a moral inventory and when I am wrong I certainly try to promptly admit it. For me, it all has to do with my point of view, and choosing to remember that I am an entirely new person now, and with an entirely new outlook on life.

Isn’t it amazing how we can sometimes hear a word and, according to our situation and mindset at the time, we can get a completely different meaning from that word than the person who may be sitting next to us would get. For instance, I could be in a crowded room and hear the word punch. Some who hear it may think of a refreshing convivial beverage. Others might envision something that arises from violence and may end up in the bloodied nose. For me, it depends on how I have worked on, (and keep working on), steps number six and seven. I still have a few things in that dungeon of mine that need to be tossed out.