Our Folded Hands

Women helping Women. Reaching out to the Sister who still suffers. Helping each other through the Good times and the Difficult times. To get to the SOBER way of life, One Day at a Time.

Butterfly On A Pink Flower

Daily Reflections

OUR COMMON WELFARE COMES FIRST

The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished
quality our Society has. . . . We stay whole, or A.A.
dies.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 129

Our Traditions are key elements in the ego deflation
process necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety in
Alcoholics Anonymous. The First Tradition reminds me
not to take credit, or authority, for my recovery.
Placing our common welfare first reminds me not to
become a healer in this program; I am still one of
the patients. Self-effacing elders built the ward.
Without it, I doubt I would be alive. Without the
group, few alcoholics would recover. The active role
in renewed surrender of will enables me to step aside
from the need to dominate, the desire for recognition,
both of which played so great a part in my active
alcoholism. Deferring my personal desires for the
greater good of group growth contributes toward A.A.
unity that is central to all recovery. It helps me to
remember that the whole is greater than the sum of all
its parts.