An acquaintance who follows Buddhist practice remarked,

Anyone in your recovery programs who has done a thorough job of your first nine Steps would be said in Buddhism to be a third of the way to enlightenment. Why do so few people in recovery seem to want to work for the other two-thirds?

She meant that the Buddhist path to enlightenment can be summarized as good conduct, calm, and wisdom. Those of us who have worked the first nine Steps thoroughly -- which is just about anyone that has spent any time in Program -- have practiced good conduct on a daily basis; we've inventoried about it, prayed about it, and made amends. So why do we seem to find the developing of calm and understanding so threatening?

If we are thinking about that spiritual awakening that is mentioned in Step 12, we can comfort ourselves by remembering that we are a third of the way there. A thorough and committed approach to Steps 10, 11 and 12 should bring us still closer to our spiritual goals.