Hear me! My chiefs, I am tired, my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.

Chief Joseph  Nez Perce

 
 
"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."

 
Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking only an act of Providence can remove it from us.

No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one. Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us of all self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands. Once this stark fact is accepted, our bankruptcy as going human concerns is complete.

But upon entering A.A. we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through our utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.

Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions  pg. 21

 
Grandfather help us, we are tired and weak.