Daily Reflections reading October 28th
An Unbroken Tradition
We
conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far
greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any
other cause. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177
How
much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a
thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob. How much more grounded I feel
to be in a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging. I am grateful
that the energies of A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our
members and on individual sobriety.
My
beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.’s
purpose — so clearly stated fifty years ago — is for me to keep sober. That
purpose has promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of
inter-group and central service offices, with their thousands of volunteers.
Like the sun focused through a magnifying glass, A.A.’s single vision has lit a
fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts, including mine
© Alcoholics Anonymous World Services
My thoughts on October 28th Reading
In all my years in AA I have never seen our meetings divided
by a major controversial issue, or ever publicly taken sides on any question, I
do believe it is by instinct known from the very beginning that AA must never
no matter what the provocation publicly take sides in any fight
Even a worthy one we cannot be tempted into any controversy
this reluctance to fight one another or anybody else is what keeps the
fellowship staying with the basis of AA this does it means that the members are
going to back away from their individual responsibilities to act upon issues
But when it comes to AA as a whole that's quite a different
matter in this respect we should not enter into public controversy because we
know that our Society will perish if it does we conceive the survival and
spread of AA to be something of far greater importance
Maybe this sounds as thought the alcoholics in AA had gone
peaceable, and become one big happy family well this isn't so, as the Human
beings that we are we squabble, before we leveled off a bit AA looked more like
one prodigious squabble than anything else at least on the surface
Disliking the attempt of some to manage a group half its
membership might angrily rush off to form another group more to their liking
Elders temporarily turned Pharisee have sulked Bitter attacks have been
directed against people suspected of mixed motives
The early of the Washingtonians members foresaw that they
should dedicate themselves to this sole aim. In many respects, the
Washingtonians were akin to AA of today. Their membership passed the hundred
thousand mark. Had they been left to themselves, and had they stuck to their
one goal, they might have found the rest of the answer.
Maybe the society could have survived the abolition
controversy, but it didn't have a chance from the moment it determined to
reform America's drinking habits. When the Washingtonians became temperance
crusaders, within a very few years they had completely lost their
effectiveness
The lesson to be learned from the Washingtonians was not
overlooked by AA as we surveyed the wreck have that movement early AA members
resolved to keep our Society out of public controversy Thus was laid the
cornerstone for Tradition Ten
Many new meetings were started because of the elders
temporarily turned Pharisee bitter attacks have been directed against people
suspected of mixed motives this is where the term bleeding deacon or elder
statesman came from thank God for AA’s position on outside issues today
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suggestions or comments
