Tradition seven

Tradition seven

“Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions” In a nutshell: I need to take responsibility for my own recovery! For any newer members reading this, you may be thinking like I did in my early days: “Oh great, a boring discussion about money! Who wants to read that?” And if you think that there is some conspiracy: “I get it, they’re gonna try and take money off me”, the good news is there is no catch: the money that we contribute at the end of AA meetings is not going to some AA fat cat. Nobody’s getting rich because of our contributions. Every last penny we put into the basket or “pot”, “hat” or whatever you like to call it, is going towards keeping AA alive. Alcoholics Anonymous supports itself, and just like any other organisation, it has bills to pay. AA has been keeping me alive for years, so I have a responsibility to keep it alive: it’s as simple as that. As well as that, I also owe it to the still-suffering alcoholic, who needs AA to be there when they are ready to ask for help.  And that means paying what I can at the end of the meeting. This money goes towards everything from the rent, to printing the literature, keeping the AA telephone helpline going and a whole lot more.

It was decided early on, when AA was in its infancy, that we must refuse money from people outside the fellowship. “Whoever pays the piper calls the tune”. Alcoholics Anonymous must stick to its primary purpose: to help the still-suffering alcoholic, so if we accept money from non-alcoholics, we are in danger of being diverted from that, and pretty soon there will no longer be a fellowship left at all.

The money I put into the pot at the end of the meeting isn’t even a fraction of what I used to spend on alcohol on a weekly basis. I always found money for drink, so the least I can do is try and do my bit to keep Alcoholics Anonymous alive and active. I need it more than it needs me.

Road to Recovery Group, Plymouth.

Tradition 5

Tradition five in simple terms states our singleness of purpose. To carry the message which was freely given to us. Each Alcoholics Anonymous group ought to be a spiritual entity having but one primary purpose — that of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

The main purpose of an AA group is to share experience, strength and hope to the still suffering alcoholic. In my own personal experience, I am very grateful that I heard the great message of recovery at my first home group meeting.  I am convinced I would not have come back if all I heard was a constant share about drinking and not the solution. For that night I didn’t just hear one message there was a unified message by ALL group member’s.  That was the key for me to keep coming back…. the message!

At my Home group, meetings are run like a well-oiled machine because the group understands the importance of Tradition 5, when a member shares they share for the alcoholic who still suffers not always solely the newcomer. Whenever I am asked to share, I always remember how I felt walking through the doors the very first time and how anxious, nervous I was and full of fear. When the meeting started I heard some amazing shares the message was loud and clear. So I always think of the nervous newcomer and hopefully try and carry a message of recovery to give them hope that there is a solution to their alcoholism.

Doing service and my home group has been an honour and another example of Tradition 5 in action. I absolutely loved the service position of “greeter”, being the very first point of contact to the newcomer, a big smile and a handshake to help put them at ease. Even if I had a terrible day at work, where all things went wrong, I would simply “suit up and smile” regardless of how I felt. By the end of the service I would feel amazing, because I was thinking of others and not myself.  My service position as secretary is a bit like a conductor at an orchestra to ensure-all the elements are running like clockwork.  In the preamble we always have a moments silence to remember Tradition 5. During the shares from the floor I will promptly ring the bell if discussion of "Problems other than alcoholism" are dwelled on.  This is not helpful for the newcomer, they need to  hear that "sobriety, freedom from alcohol through the teaching and practice of the twelve steps" is possible.

Tradition 5 allows me to stay sober, I wouldn’t be able to maintain sobriety if I didn’t give it away.  How can I continue to work the steps and the program of AA and NOT pass this amazing message on? 

R, Road to Recovery Group Plymouth

Tradition Four

When I came to Alcoholics Anonymous I asked a man to sponsor me and with his help I took the twelve steps. On their completion I found that I had recovered, and at this point my sponsor encouraged me to take responsibility for my membership of AA and my Homegroup by reading the 12 Traditions and trying to develop an understanding of how they are applied, in the running of our groups and the undertaking of our various levels of service.

The fourth tradition – Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole – is one that at first glance appeared quite clear, but which upon further consideration has required a bit of thought, reading and discussion to fully understand.

Initially, tradition four implied to me that any AA group can do exactly as it pleases, providing that in doing so neither other groups nor AA as a whole are compromised or threatened. Basically, I was right – or at least on the right track – for as Bill simplifies it at the opening of his piece on this tradition in the 12 and 12: ‘Autonomy is a ten-dollar word. But in relation to us, it means very simply that every AA group can manage its affairs exactly as it pleases, except when AA as a whole is threatened’ (12 and 12: 150).

It wasn’t long however, before I realised that the challenge in developing a working understanding of this tradition lay in understanding what, in the context if AA, might constitute ‘affecting other groups or AA as a whole’.

Again, initially, it occurred to me that pretty much everything that an AA group does could be seen to ‘affect’ AA in the wider sense, simply by dint of the newcomers ‘impression’ of AA being largely determined by the group, or groups, that they first attend. Similarly, could not many of the actions many AA groups take, be seen to ‘affect’ other groups? In my group, members sometimes share that ‘this is a great group,’ that ‘I love this group,’ or that ‘I dread to think what could have happened if I had not taken the 12 steps when I arrived in AA.’ Does this mean that they are suggesting that their group is ‘better’ than other groups, or that a group that does not advocate taking the steps as soon as possible is ‘wrong’, and are thereby ‘affecting’ them? No, it does not – this was not the sort of thing that Bill was referring to at all. When people share such things they are simply expressing enthusiasm for AA and the group in which they found sobriety and trying to impart to the newcomer the importance they place on taking the steps to find recovery.

When Bill talks about the principle of ‘autonomy’, he is referring primarily to the notion of ‘affiliation’. He explains in his writings the way in which the fledgling fellowship learned through (often bitter) experience that along with its ‘singleness of purpose’, AA’s principle of ‘non-affiliation’ is amongst the most vital in ensuring its long-term survival. This draws things close to the territory of the sixth tradition, but in the context of the fourth, Bill makes it clear that the main way in which a group’s autonomy is compromised is through its conscience and governance becoming ‘affiliated’ with something, or somebody, outside the sphere of its own direct membership. This is why a group ought not accept funds from non-AA members or outside sources (Tradition 7), or become embroiled in matters of public policy around, for example, education and the medical treatment of alcoholics (Tradition 10).

In simple terms, ‘autonomy’ refers to a ‘self-governing community’. Anything that might negate an AA group's ability to operate in this way, such as influence from, or obligation to, outside agencies or policies, should be avoided.

Bill does go on to say however, that the AA groups right to ‘autonomy’ and governance through its own conscience should not incur ‘great injury’ to AA as a whole. It would seem to me that by far the simplest and easiest way to ensure that a group does not - in its actions and procedures - greatly injure AA, is to abide by the principles of all 12 Traditions. A group who, for example, decided that it would accept large financial contributions from outside sources to further its 12th Step work, and then, for whatever reason closed down, with the money ‘disappearing’ in the process and invoking the wrath of those who made the donations, could very well cause a public (and legal) scandal that would injure AA a great deal. Similarly, a group that decided to produce, publish and distribute a bi-monthly magazine, detailing all they ‘don’t like’ or ‘disagree with’ regarding the supposed actions and policies of other groups, might very well provoke a public break-down in unity (Tradition 1) that could have grave consequences for the fellowship as a whole.

In short, the fourth tradition suggests that each AA group maintains the right to determine its own practices and policies through the workings of its own group conscience. This right ought not however be extended to the taking of actions that involve establishing outside affiliations or allegiances, or making policy decisions that veer so far from the spirit or AA’s traditions that injury to AA and/or other groups' results.

Ultimately, as Bill puts it, under the auspices of Tradition 4, each group has the ‘right to be wrong’. I may not like how another group does things – I may even disapprove, but short of the above, they have every right to proceed as they wish, and should not be excluded for doing so.

Road to Recovery Group Plymouth Alcoholics Anonymous