Today, some eighty five (85) years after the first meeting between Bill Wilson and Doctor Bob, working with others (Step 12) remains the one, and the only, activity that we share with the original founding fathers of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and all of the early members.
When the first seeds of A.A. were planted in May of 1935 in Akron, Ohio, there was no A.A. Big Book. So with no A.A. Big Book there were no steps to follow. There were no traditions to guide our meetings. There was basically nothing except the passion of one alcoholic working with another alcoholic sharing their own personal experience of striving, one-day-at-a-time, to not pick up a drink of alcohol.
I continue to work with others on a daily basis.
Chapter 7 of the A.A. Big Book begins with the following paragraph:
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill.
Today, Sunday the 16th of August 2020, my own personal to-do list included calling a friend in A.A. who I have known for several decades.
Doing this was so important that I taped a reminder message onto the mirror in our bathroom so I would not forget to call our friend.
What joy we three received visiting with one-another!
I promised Kathleen I'd include a few photos of a local lake we visit to just relax and enjoy each other's company. It is so close that we can walk to it in 15-minutes.
Yes Oh Yes. We feed the ducks. Both the ducks and my wife and I just love our visits.
What has this got to do with sobriety?
Everything. Sharing our joy and hope with each other keeps us sober.
Katheen, our dear friend, and anyone following along here who wishes to join us, let's make-a-deal:
Let's NOT DRINK TODAY.
