OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE The more A.A. sticks to its primary purpose, the greater will be its helpful influence everywhere. — A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 109 It is with gratitude that I reflect on the early days of our Fellowship and those wise and loving "foresteppers" who proclaimed that we should not be diverted from our primary purpose, that of carrying the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. I desire to impart respect to those who labor in...
TRUE TOLERANCE The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 139 I first heard the short form of the Third Tradition in the Preamble. When I came to A.A. I could not accept myself, my alcoholism, or a Higher Power. If there had been any physical, mental, moral, or religious requirements for membership, I would be dead today. Bill W. said in his tape on the Traditions that the...
EQUAL RIGHTS At one time or another most A.A. groups go on rule-making benders. . . After a time fear and intolerance subside. We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive. — "A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED," pp. 10, 11, 12 A.A. offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the Fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon conformity, financial...
NO MAUDLIN GUILT Day by day, we try to move a little toward God's perfection. So we need not be consumed by maudlin guilt. . . . — AS BILL SEES IT, p. 15 When I first discovered that there is not a single "don't" in the Twelve Steps of A.A., I was disturbed because this discovery swung open a giant portal. Only then was I able to realize what A.A. is for me: A.A.is not a program of "don'ts," but of "do's." A.A. is not martial law; it is...
TURNING NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If you will bear this in mind, I think that your slip will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead of down, — AS BILL SEES IT, p. 184 In keeping with the pain and adversity which our founders encountered and overcame in establishing A.A., Bill W. sent us a clear message: a relapse...
