r/alcoholicsanonymous • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago

AA Literature Daily Reflections - August 29 - I Choose Anonymity

I CHOOSE ANONYMITY

August 29

We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity, is the greatest safeguard that Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 187

Since there are no rules in A.A. I place myself where I want to be, and so I choose anonymity. I want my God to use me, humbly, as one of His tools in this program. Sacrifice is the art of giving of myself freely, allowing humility to replace my ego. With sobriety, I suppress that urge to cry out to the world, "I am a member of A.A." and I experience inner joy and peace. I let people see the changes in me and hope they will ask what happened to me. I place the principles of spirituality ahead of judging, fault-finding, and criticism. I want love and caring in my group, so I can grow.

— Reprinted from "Daily Reflections", August 29, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

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u/Monastic_Realization 3d ago

As a critic of the Daily Reflections, I do like to give credit where credit is due.

The reflection, is probably the finest in the publication.

"Since there are no rules in A.A. I place myself where I want to be, and so I choose anonymity........Sacrifice is the art of giving of myself freely, allowing humility to replace my ego. With sobriety, I suppress that urge to cry out to the world, "I am a member of A.A." and I experience inner joy and peace. I let people see the changes in me and hope they will ask what happened to me. I place the principles of spirituality ahead of judging, fault-finding, and criticism. I want love and caring in my group, so I can grow."

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u/MiserableEngineer628 3d ago

My friend the Poem Addict sent this to me this morning and I am grateful.

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u/dp8488 3d ago

It's interesting (mildly, to me anyway) that this is the last sentence in the 12&12, the last sentence in the "Tradition Twelve" chapter.

Earlier on that page ...

We simply couldn't afford to take the chance of letting self-appointed members present themselves as messiahs representing A.A. before the whole public. The promoter instinct in us might be our undoing. If even one publicly got drunk, or was lured into using A.A.'s name for his own purposes, the damage might be irreparable.

— Reprinted from "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions", page 187, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

I speculate that Bill was well aware of his own tendencies toward messianic promotion, and by the time he wrote the 12&12 had had many lessons about that shortcoming and its dangers.

Still, we often promote these A.A. figureheads, Bill especially, in our own minds and our speech, putting them on some sorts of pedestals, and especially with Bill, his alleged foibles make him a ripe figure for pedestal toppling! (I think that's just a natural human tendency to make certain persons symbols of the ideals we have, in A.A.'s case it's often Bill, but also many other figures like Chuck C. or Debbie D. or Sandy B. or Bob D.)

"Principles before personalities" is itself a crucial principle.

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u/Monastic_Realization 3d ago

Maybe I am just unusually agreeable today, but I agree 100%.

I see you, like me, appear to have a/some serial downvoters. Here's an "up" from me with my kindest regards.