Have you ever heard the phrase that “knowledge is power”? I have had some time to think about this saying and I have heard what some other people have had to say, and I have come to this conclusion. To say that knowledge is power is misleading. Knowledge by itself is useless. While I do believe that knowledge of things and the world about us is a crucial aspect of finding our way through life, it doesn’t constitute all of the necessary components of successful accomplishment.

If knowledge is power than why aren’t librarians the most powerful people on the planet? I believe that it is not the knowing of things that is the most important but rather the action taken as a result of that knowledge. An individual can know all about their individual problems, but unless they take some sort of action towards the remedy for those problems, then they will continue to have those problems.

You see, for the addict and alcoholic, knowledge of their problem is simply a starting point. They absolutely must see that they have a problem. This knowledge is critical. If that is where they stop then there is no hope for their recovery. It is vitally important that we learn to take active steps toward a better future. It would be like trying to learn to ride a bike by watching other people ride their bikes. I could watch people for days on end and never know how to ride myself. I need to get on the bike and start to pedal. I am the one who needs to figure out how to balance myself.

As we go through the recovery process, we are going to fall down, and by that I mean make some mistakes. These mistakes are part of the learning process and they are necessary. Just like when you first ride a bike. We fall down and we get hurt a little or maybe we get embarrassed. That is the way it is supposed to be. It is what motivates us to try harder. And over time, slowly, we quit falling down as much. Then, with enough practice, we almost never fall down within the bounds of normal living or riding, whatever the case may be.