September 11
A Good Idea Gets Bigger
Enthusiasm has a way of enlarging the job. We agree to help with something simple, then begin imagining all the other things it could become. A meeting needs a place to gather; before long we are discussing ownership, programs, and plans that will require years of attention. Each addition sounds worthwhile. It can be difficult to notice when the original reason has disappeared beneath the improvements.
Tradition Six grew out of some very generous ambitions. Its caution need not make us suspicious of imagination. It gives us a reason to ask what our bright idea will require after the excitement fades. Someone will have to do the work, settle the arguments, and find the money. There is humility in considering those ordinary facts while we still have a choice. We may love an idea and discover that our group cannot responsibly carry it.
What ongoing responsibility is hidden inside an attractive new idea?
It is worth knowing what we are agreeing to carry.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Tradition Six.