GIVING FREELY We will make every personal sacrifice necessary to insure the unity of Alcoholics Anonymous. We will do this because we have learned to love God and one another. — A.A. comes of age, p. 234 To be self-supporting through my own contributions was never a strong characteristic during my days as a practicing alcoholic. The giving of time or money always demanded a price tag. As a newcomer I was told "we have to give it away in order...
THE "WORTH" OF SOBRIETY Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 160 When I go shopping I look at the prices and if I need what I see, I buy it and pay. Now that I am supposed to be in rehabilitation, I have to straighten out my life. When I go to a meeting, I take a coffee with sugar and milk, sometimes more than one. But at the collection time, I am either...
THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting danger to our own lives and sanity. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151 I know the torment of drinking compulsively to quiet my nerves and my fears. I also know the pain of white-knuckled sobriety. Today, I do not forget the unknown person who suffers quietly, withdrawn and hiding in the desperate relief of drinking. I ask my Higher Power to...
HELPING OTHERS Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 20 Self-centeredness was my problem. All my life people had been doing things for me and I not only expected it, but I was ungrateful and resentful they didn't do more. Why should I help others, when they were supposed to help me? If others had troubles, didn't they deserve them? I...
I ASK GOD TO DECIDE "I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows." — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 Having admitted my powerlessness and made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him, I don't decide which defects get removed, or the order in which defects get removed, or the time frame in which they get removed. I ask...
