As I read the Big Book daily, I am learning how to stay on the path that the first one hundred members cleared for me. Whenever I am feeling low, I think of "Bill's Story," on page 15, when he was full of self-pity during his trying times: "When all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day." - Anonymous
"Pass It On" is the theme that Bill W. gave us. During the first seven months of his sobriety, he tried dragging alkies out of bars and lecturing them. It did not work. None of them got sober. He was told by Dr. Silkworth it might work better if he shared his own experience with others who are suffering. And Bill tried Dr. Silkworth's suggestion: he shared his own experience with Dr. Bob, and the rest is history. We still do that 73 years later. We share about ourselves; what we have been through. I do not know what you or anyone else should or should not do, I can only tell you what worked for me -- which is the way the old timers who were here when I got to AA taught me. They shared about themselves, and I could feel that they knew what it was like for me. It meant so much to me at my first meeting, hearing others who were smiling and happy, sharing things I had never told anyone about me. I knew I was home with people who really understood where I came from. The idea of "Pass it On" is so strong in AA, that when a book was published by AA World Services about the life of Bill W., the title was "Pass it On." My sponsors taught me to pass on what I have learned, how to set up meetings, etc. We don't just tell someone to do a job here, we help them by sharing what we have learned, what the others before us had taught us. What an amazing concept! One that has worked for millions of us over the past 73 years, one day at a time. It has helped me stay clean and sober for over 29 years. Thank you for letting me share.
