As cooler temperatures prevail and the holiday season is just around the corner, we would like to take a moment and thank you for reading Rocking Sobriety to learn a little more about our fall edition.

In this issue, we have a ton of great information with an article on Acceptance written by John R. We have a YouTube Speaker share presented by Angela B. Also, we have our second installment with our 7^th Tradition Myths and an update on Community Corrections, put together by Tom C.

On the lighter side, we have comics and some excerpts from our Heard in a Meeting series. If you’re looking for the latest happenings in the A.A. community, please head over to our Announcements page.

Stay safe, stay sober, and we’ll see you next time.

Ryan M.

When my speech and actions are less reactions from pain and self-avoidance, I tend to create less mayhem and chaos around me, which allows more opportunity for calm and peace instead.

Acceptance means understanding that other people are imperfect, too. The more I see the truth of my imperfect self, the more I am able to feel compassion for others because I can relate to their inner struggles and suffering. With this understanding, I can begin to accept that others tend to speak and act out of their own pain and flaws, just as I do. When I feel less need to have perfection in myself, it also becomes easier not to expect perfection in others. Once I begin to accept and understand others as they are, I can start learning how to speak and act with kindness and helpfulness.

Acceptance means humility. Not humiliation, but humility. Humility is the opposite of ego. I am neither better than others, nor worse than others. I am just another human on this vast planet, at this brief moment in time. Throughout my life, I have struggled with over- and under-valuing myself, sometimes penduluming between extremes. But when I can just be one piece of my Higher Power’s infinitely enormous puzzle, then I start to understand what true humility feels like. I’m not special. I’m not garbage. In fact, true humility also means that I’m not equal either… true humility means I stop judging, evaluating, and comparing myself at all. I am just me. Other people are just themselves. There is no need to compare or measure any of us. Learning to accept this truth allows me to begin to feel at peace.

Acceptance means patience. Time takes time. I sometimes want to rush to find out what happens next, to flip to the back of the book, to watch the movie-trailer synopsis of my life, read the reviews, and find out if the ending is going to be good or not. Yet my Higher Power operates on the vast scale of infinite time, extending unimaginably in both directions, behind me and before me… while all I have is this present moment, just as it is, and the present world around me, just as it is. The more I stop struggling and simply accept myself, my surroundings, and everyone around me as we are, without expectation, judgment, evaluation, or comparison… the more I begin to experience serenity.

John R.

Realizing the importance of self-sufficiency, they felt the word “Foundation” should be discontinued.

By 2006 there was a Conference Advisory Action where the General Service Conference recommended the word “donation” change to “contribution” in all A.A. literature to further emphasize the importance Alcoholics Anonymous be fully self-supporting through the voluntary contributions of its members.

Myth: If my home group is having trouble paying expenses, it’s ok to hold a fundraiser.
Per our literature we do not hold fundraisers in A.A. We do not organize internal fundraisers from our own members, nor do we ask for outside funds.

Examples of fundraisers range from a group holding a 50/50 raffle awarding cash prizes to an intergroup holding a gala or other large event for the express purpose of raising funds. Other examples include groups selling recovery t-shirts or charging for anniversary dances to raise funds.

Holding fundraisers can be risky as well. A.A. groups or service entities relying on fundraisers as part of their business model to cover the deficit between contributions and expenses find themselves in trouble when they cancel an event or are unable to refund tickets. For this reason such events are often designed to be revenue neutral and self-supporting.

It is better to educate groups on how your local A.A. District, intergroup (if there is one present in your geographical area), Area, and the General Service Board use your contributions to provide services to members and carry the message to the still suffering alcoholic.

Myth: Don’t all A.A. funds go into the same pot?
No. In A.A. there are varying service entities such as your group, the local A.A. District and Area your group resides in, local intergroups or central offices, if any in your geographical area, and the General Service Board. In addition, in some areas autonomous A.A. service committees operate unaffiliated with local A.A. Districts or Areas or intergroups.

This incentivizes group treasurers, and treasurers for service entities inside A.A., to prepare regular reports as to how 7th Traditions contributions are used to help alcoholics and carry the message. If your homegroup treasurer (or any treasurer in A.A. for that matter) refuses to disclose via regular reports how funds are used to carry the message, there is cause for concern.

Submissions: The Rocking Sobriety newsletter welcomes feature articles, supporting articles, group histories, anniversaries, jokes, cartoons, and upcoming events as long as they relate to the A.A. experience and reflect an awareness of A.A.’s singleness of purpose. Submissions are reviewed by the newsletter committee and recommended to the editor for publication.