The Only Requirement…

 I’m the type of person who likes rules and regulations. I admit it. Everything is neat and orderly. Cars pass on the left. No surprises. No exceptions. I don’t live like that, though, thank goodness! Life is full of surprises and fun and spontaneity, none of which can be contained into a tidy Stepford world. I just wish everyone did things MY way.

Who hasn’t been part of a planning committee? Remember how everyone (except the quiet eye-rollers) had an opinion about Every. Little. Thing? Resentments abounded. Anger and voices were raised. Almost every participant had the True Vision, and tried to bend the others’ views to match. Ugh.

It couldn’t have been much different for the founding members when trying to organize this new, radical yet simple formula for sharing true, lasting sobriety. In the end, it all boiled down to the Third Tradition: The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. The only requirement. Seems too simple to work, but over eight decades later, it still works. It did for me.

Being in this fellowship of all types of people has been instructional and inspiring. I have the privilege of getting to know people from all walks of life. Zoom meetings have been a fun way to visit other parts of the city, country, and world, meeting others who have the very same central goal. I hear their stories, and no matter the accent, I hear my own experiences as they share.

This fellowship of souls is strong because it was kept simple - easy enough for this lover of rules to relax into.

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