THE ONLY REQUIREMENT . . . "At one time . . . every A.A. group had many membership rules. Everybody was scared witless that something or somebody would capsize the boat. . . .The total list was a mile long. If all those rules had been in effect everywhere, nobody could have possibly joined A.A. at all, . . ." TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 139-40 I'm grateful that the Third Tradition only requires of me a desire to stop drinking. I had...
I CHOOSE ANONYMITY We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity, is the greatest safeguard that Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 187 Since there are no rules in A.A. I place myself where I want to be, and so I choose anonymity. I want my God to use me, humbly, as one of His tools in this program. Sacrifice is the art of giving of myself freely, allowing humility to replace my ego. With sobriety, I...
LIGHTENING THE BURDEN Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. . . . the dark past is . . . the key to life and happiness for others. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 124 Since I have been sober, I have been healed of many pains: deceiving my partner, deserting my best friend, and spoiling my mother's hopes for my life. In each case someone in the program told me of a similar...
CENTERING OUR THOUGHTS When World War II broke out, our A.A. dependence on a Higher Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the services and were scattered all over the world. Would they be able to take the discipline, stand up under fire, and endure . . . ? AS BILL SEES IT, p. 200 I will center my thoughts on a Higher Power. I will surrender all to this power within me. I will become a soldier for this power, feeling the might of the...
GIVING IT AWAY Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would remain sober, that motive became secondary. It was transcended by the happiness they found in giving themselves for others. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 159 Those words, for me, refer to a transference of power, through which God, as I understand Him, enters my life. Through prayer and meditation, I open channels, then I establish and improve my conscious contact with God....
