AA is a remarkable fellowship. It survives the years, the decades and the resentments. It continues to work - regardless of the character defects of its many members. We are not a perfect group of drunks. In fact, I'm sure there is no such thing as a perfect group of drunks; nor is there a perfect group of anything else, for that matter.
We lie, we cheat, we argue and we get huge resentments - at each other and, of course, at those outside our circles. Why? We do it simply because we are human. Those are the kinds of things humans do.
But we also love and serve. We reach out to those who still suffer, and we do what we can to give them hope and a lifeline. We do it because we care and also because it helps our recovery.
Tonight at our meeting a young man picked up a 30 day chip. There is nothing unusual about that, and that is what impressed me. In spite of all our faults and differences of opinion our fellowship is still intact and our 12 step program still works wonders. Yes, actually we are one big happy family. Not perfect, not always serene, we don't always get along with one another, but still one family - united in love and service.
We lie, we cheat, we argue and we get huge resentments - at each other and, of course, at those outside our circles. Why? We do it simply because we are human. Those are the kinds of things humans do.
But we also love and serve. We reach out to those who still suffer, and we do what we can to give them hope and a lifeline. We do it because we care and also because it helps our recovery.
Tonight at our meeting a young man picked up a 30 day chip. There is nothing unusual about that, and that is what impressed me. In spite of all our faults and differences of opinion our fellowship is still intact and our 12 step program still works wonders. Yes, actually we are one big happy family. Not perfect, not always serene, we don't always get along with one another, but still one family - united in love and service.
