The subject of the meeting was – “How It Works.”
The shares were outstanding. Men talked about how their lives had changed by practicing the Program’s principles.
But one share stood out from the others.
The AA brother took a sip of his tea and introduced himself in the usual fashion. Then he held up his iPhone and said, “I remember the first text message I ever sent. After I sent it, I called the guy to make sure he got the message. My wife thought that was funny.”
“Nobody taught me how to text; I learned by watching others. I watched my grandchildren doing it, and it worked for them. I watched my coffee buddies doing It, and it worked for them. And I tried it myself, and it worked for me.”
“Now I text from my phone all the time. I don’t know how the phone takes my message as I tap on that tiny keyboard or how it connects to a radio signal and finds the right phone to receive the message. I do not understand how it works. And I don’t need to understand how it works.”
“I watched others, saw them succeed and imitated them. And now, texting is a key part of my life. I can’t remember how I lived without text messaging; it is great.”
“When I came to AA, I was obsessed with ‘How It Works.’ I had to figure out how it works. I questioned and argued with sponsors. What connection could there be between a physical allergy and a religious experience? I pointed out that there was no rational connection between a moral inventory and stopping drinking; I argued that harms done in the past were in the past and should stay in the past.”
“At meetings, I rolled my eyes at trivial and repetitive shares; I sneered at the slogans and sayings.”
“Life would have been a lot easier if I had followed the same path with the Program that I had followed with texting. All I had to do was watch what other AAs did and imitate them.”
“I do not need to know how texting works, and I do not need to know how the Program works. I just have to follow some simple examples.”
We all laughed. Each of us had the same experience. We did not have to understand it; we just had to do it.
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