We tend to focus most of our discussions on the twelve steps. And for good reason. That is the main purpose of AA, - following the steps to help individuals who want to lead a better life through a sober lifestyle.

The steps are aimed at the individual person in AA. They are a road map for recovery to be followed by each of us in our quest for sobriety. The traditions seem to be aimed at the makeup of AA itself. A blueprint, if you will of the way in which to run this organization.

One - Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

This seems like a very basic idea, and is a fundamental building block of the entire AA Program. I know the word common is often thought of as meaning 'basic', and you can understand this statement by thinking of it in these terms. But I don't think that was the way it was meant when the Steps and Traditions were written. Instead, it seems to take it's use here is from the Latin communis, : of or relating to a community at large.

And we in AA are truly a community. We are a group of people with common characteristics or interests living together within a larger society. We interact with each other on a regular basis. Many of us work with others who are in the program. We all share a similar desire to lead a sober lifestyle.

We have all been through similar, yet different situations and circumstances that led us to seek out this community or family as a means by which we hope to improve our lives. And as members of this community, we have certain responsibilities we need to live up to. We need to pay back for what we have been given.

We need to keep AA alive and growing if we are to continue our primary purpose - helping those of us in the program remain sober, and encouraging those not in the program that may need assistance to seek out and embrace the ideals AA has to offer.

Our personal welfare and well being are the primary reason we have come to this program. We are after all seeking recovery and . Those of us here have come to this group to seek help or inspiration in our struggles to remain sober.

We need to work to preserve AA. Not just sit back and take what we need from it. Like any living organism, it needs to be helped to grow and thrive.

There is a need for unity also in the way in which all AA groups conduct their meetings. Weather the group focuses solely on the steps, has large 'rally" type meetings, or follows a looser style such as ours, we most all likely follow some of the same traditions - such as reciting the serenity prayer, relating personal stories and histories, and of course discussing the steps to sobriety. This "unity" of style enables anyone going to a meeting somewhere other than their "home" group to fit right in with the group they are visiting. Knowing that they share a unity of purpose with those others around them allows new comers to feel at home and at ease, no matter where they may find themselves at a meeting.

AA unity is some what of a misleading concept. While being connected to AA as a whole, many groups (such as ours) are basically self sustaining entities with few ties to a larger, organized body.

The idea of AA unity is to make sure that we keep our strength in numbers, not allowing a splintering of groups. To do this we need to focus on this one area of personal recovery. If AA were to succumb to spreading itself too thin, it would be ineffective. A comment was once made that "AA is the broth that makes the soup of our lives rich". If we add too many things to this broth, we would change the flavor of AA and be unable to focus on our primary concern - personal recovery and sobriety.

The Steps

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Personal Stories

Assorted Quotes

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