We just finished our Thursday noon hour meeting. In this time of pandemic, the meeting was held online. Our reading for the meeting came from the Twelve by Twelve, Chapter Three. Its reference to proper dependence in a time of crisis caught my eye.
Let me paraphrase the reading and frame it in the current panic:
When the worldwide pandemic broke out in 2020, this spiritual dependence (on a power greater than ourselves) had a major test. AA’s were scattered all over the world. Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire, and endure the monotony and misery of the pandemic? Would the kind of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through? Well, it did. They had fewer alcoholic lapses than ever; and fewer emotional binges than others. They were just as capable of endurance and valor as any other citizen. [1]
During WWII AA’s survived and thrived.
So, too we are doing well. Keeping in touch and reaching out. And for me, increasing my spiritual maintenance work of daily meditations and prayers. Turning more and more to my Higher Power for strength and coming to rely less and less on myself, my judgements and me.
[1] When World War II broke out, this spiritual principle (of dependence on a power greater than ourselves) had its first major test. AA’s entered the services and were scattered all over the world. Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire, and endure the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through? Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges than AA’s safe at home did. They were just as capable of endurance and valor as any other soldiers. Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno beachhead, their dependence upon a Higher Power worked. And far from being a weakness, this dependence was their chief source of strength.
AA World Services Inc. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (pp. 38-39). AA World Services, Inc. Kindle Edition.