July 30
The Reason for the Room
The business meeting has plenty to discuss. There is a celebration to arrange, a disagreement about supplies, and a suggestion for making the room more comfortable. Each item matters to somebody. Before long, we have spent the evening deciding how to improve the experience of people who already feel at home here. The alcoholic who has never visited is absent from the conversation.
Primary purpose gives that absent person a place in our thinking. Would someone looking for help be able to find us, understand what happens here, and hear something about recovery? The answer may affect very ordinary decisions. Hospitality and celebrations can serve that purpose beautifully. They can also become interests of their own. Remembering why the group exists helps us weigh good ideas without treating every attractive proposal as equally necessary.
Whose need is missing from the way I think about my group's work?
The room has a reason beyond our comfort.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Tradition Five.