“This is a matter of self-preservation…”

– Life with Hope, first edition, page 53

There are two inventories in our 12-Step program and each is about honesty. The Fourth Step was an honest admission of our fearless moral inventory and the beginning of the action steps. In the Tenth Step we continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. We continued to ask for more awareness and help in Marijuana Anonymous and our assets and liabilities require a spot-check.

My sponsor described this to me as, “shooting an arrow towards a target.” Was I aiming in the right direction, close to the target or hitting the bulls-eye? Self-preservation was an action of maintaining and preserving what I started. I stopped using, lost the desire to use marijuana, and I was now finding a new life without marijuana in all its forms.

I remain vigilant from being complacent. I attend meetings, work with newcomers, and grow spiritually. As I become more open and willing, my inventory will promptly inform me when I am wrong. This is an ego-deflation exercise, but essential for me to grow and to handle conflict in a healthy constructive way.

Final thought: Today, the Steps maintain my preservation of this new life free of marijuana.