IF THE ONLY PRAYER YOU SAID IN YOUR LIFE WAS "THANK YOU", THAT WOULD SUFFICE. ~Meister Eckhart

Monday, July 31, 2006

07.31.06

Tradition Five - "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers."

Today I am grateful...
  • that the hand of AA was there when I needed it most
  • to have found as close to a utopia as I am gonna find on this earth
  • that no matter what is going on I am always in touch with gratitude
  • for young men with big full lips
  • for those smarter than me, which is just about everyone
  • for earth, wind, fire, water and ether
  • when the going gets tough, the tough go to AA

There is another reason for this singleness of purpose. It is the great paradox of A.A. that we know we can seldom keep the precious gift of sobriety unless we give it away. If a group of doctors possessed a cancer cure, they might be conscience-stricken if they failed their mission through self-seeking. Yet such a failure wouldn't jeopardize their personal survival. For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting danger to our own lives and sanity. Under these compulsions of self-preservation, duty, and love, it is not strange that our Society has concluded that it has but one high mission - to carry the A.A. message to those who don't know there is a way out. ~12 Steps and 12 Traditions

6 comments:

dAAve said...

young men with full lips are quite adept at carrying the message

Shannon said...

mmm Brad Pitt has full lips
but is he still young?

Scott W said...

sirreene, ether is the fifth element, it's where the history of all our lives is stored.

Shannon, he is younger than me.

Scout, this tradition is alive and active at Lambda Center, thank God.

Todd HellsKitchen said...

Well, the lips jumped out at me, too...

But I see that topic has already been well commented upon...

Lead, of course by dAAve, who doesn't miss a trick (pun somewhat intended)...

Anonymous said...

i just had a iced green tea latte for free.

Unknown said...

Interesting how most of us focused in on the big lips ~
We are more like minded than we think ~

Thanks for the traditions post. I need to read them more.

G~