Pronunciation: suh-LOO-shun
Simple meaning
Solution means an answer, remedy, explanation, or way of dealing with a problem.
Today, people may use solution for almost anything that fixes an issue: a math answer, a business plan, a repair, a medicine, or a practical workaround. In Big Book study, the word is important because the problem being described is serious enough to require more than advice, willpower, or temporary relief.
Older meaning
Older dictionary definitions often describe solution as the act of solving, an explanation, or a means of removing a difficulty.
That older meaning matters because solution is connected to the nature of the problem. A surface problem may need a surface solution. A deeper problem may require a deeper solution.
Why this word matters
In Big Book reading, “solution” matters because the book does not only describe alcoholism as a problem. It also presents a way of recovery.
The word helps the reader ask:
What problem is being solved?
Is the solution aimed only at stopping drinking?
Is it also aimed at the mental return to drinking?
Is it connected with spiritual change, honesty, amends, service, and a new way of living?
A solution in this context is not merely a good idea. It is something that has to be practiced, lived, and tested in real life.
Common misunderstanding
A common misunderstanding is to think solution means only “do not drink.”
Not drinking matters, but in Big Book study, the solution often points to more than physical abstinence alone. It points toward a changed relationship with alcohol, self, God, other people, and daily life.
Another misunderstanding is to think that understanding the solution is the same as practicing it.
A useful question is:
Is this word describing an idea I understand, or a way of life I am being asked to practice?
Helpful meeting handle
A common recovery idea is “the problem and the solution.”
That phrase can be useful because it reminds readers not to stop at diagnosis. Seeing the problem matters, but the Big Book is also concerned with what can be done about it.
But the phrase is only a handle. In study, it is useful to ask what kind of problem is being described and what kind of solution is being offered in that specific passage.
Study note
This website works best with a copy of the Big Book in your hand. Look for the word “solution” in the first 164 pages and nearby discussion. Notice whether the surrounding passage is talking about alcoholism, spiritual experience, action, fellowship, honesty, amends, service, or a new basis for living.
Related words
problem
spiritual
awakening
recovered
willingness