Equal Rights

 I am he as you are he as you are me   And we are all together   “I am the Walrus”, Lennon/McCartney

We are all fighting our personal battles. The one thing we all share is the desire to get and stay sober. “We” - that all-inclusive start to the First Step, reminds me that the path is wide and all-inclusive. Anyone who has the courage (or the ‘judge nudge’) to come through our doors is welcome. 

We’re pack animals - we work best when we work together. We all have different strengths and diverse weaknesses, but by working together, each of us is stronger. Many people decide that now is not the time, or they find the program too hard, too God-centric, too simple, or too populated by those they judge harshly. The doors of welcome are always open for their return, provided they have, as the Third Tradition says, “the desire to stop drinking”. 

We who have had the privilege of learning enough humility to stay have found that the best surprise of the program is having had a “vital spiritual experience”, in whatever form that shows up for each individual. It is a promise, a reward, an awareness, an encouragement, and a reality. 

It is for me. May it be for you as well.

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