Talk is Cheap

Some of the most frequent complaints coming to my email that people want me to address...

"Most AA meetings today are nothing more than group therapy!"
"There are non-alcoholics participating in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous"
"The average member is in middle of the road solution and doesn't work out of the big book"
"Sponsorship now-days is phone call check-ins and gratitude lists"
"The average AA member only hears the short form of the Traditions"
"The treatment industry is taking over and watering down our meetings"
Bla bla bla... listen, I'm not debating these things or even saying their not true. What I'm curious about is how many of the finger tappers and lip flappers are actually into action?
To conclude that others were wrong is as far as most of us ever got.
Now I'm not suggesting that acceptance is the answer here. Believe that! If you claim to work a program of action, then what I'm suggesting here is to get into action! Does your home group read the 9th step promises, or the 10th step promises? Does your home group read the short form of the 12 Traditions, or the long form of the Tradition of the month? If your home group is a speaker meeting do you have guidelines and criteria for what type of message your speaker should be carrying? Do you have an occasional speaker come in to talk about the Traditions? If your home group is a discussion meeting, is it a literature-based meeting where you're discussing a piece of AA literature? If your home group is a Big Book study, once a month do you study the Tradition of the month? Do you attend your home group's monthly business meetings? Does your home group have an active GSR? Is your group helping to make decisions for AA as a whole? Are you showing up yourself to District meetings and to Area assemblies?
Or, are you like the retired businessman who lolls in the Florida Sunshine in the winter complaining about the sad state of Alcoholics Anonymous? The Big Book Thumper who is sure all would be Utopia if the rest of AA would only do what the first hundred did, but simply can't afford to waste their time with something so beneath them like General Service?
I love Alcoholics Anonymous. But I don't have to profess my gratitude by complaining about what's wrong constantly. Talk is cheap. You want to know how grateful I am for Alcoholics Anonymous? Watch what I'm DOING for Alcoholics Anonymous. What service position are you holding? What committee are you currently serving on? How many are you sponsoring? Are you actively taking people through the Traditions? Do you take the time with newcomers and help to expose them to all three legacies before they get washed away by the current in the "mainstream"...
If I'm not part of the solution, then I'm just another part of the problem.
#TalkIsCheap
#SuitupShowupAndSpeakup
#OrElseShutup
#IAmResponsible

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