You may be familiar with some version of the Drop the Rock parable. It's about the Twelve Step group members who set sail on the ship Recovery across the sea of Life for the island of Serenity. As the parable is usually told, soon after the boat pulls away from the dock, the passengers realize that some of their friends are not yet on board. Sure enough, their friend Mary comes running down the street and onto the dock. The people on the boat cheer her on. "Dive in and swim, Mary!" they shout. "You can do it!" Mary dives into the water and swims for the boat as fast and hard as she can. But as she gets close to the boat, she slows and struggles to stay afloat. Everyone on board can see why: a heavy rock is hanging from a snarl of strings around Mary's neck. "Drop the rock!" they all shout. "Let go! Drop the rock!" Treading water, Mary looks down at the rock. She realizes it contains her fear, resentments, self-pity, anger, intolerance, an