Topic for the week: What does AA fellowship mean to you?
In thinking about a topic for this week’s meeting, I wanted to write about something connected to the AA international convention which was held recently in Vancouver. I was fortunate to be able to attend it, as did a few other GROW members.
I imagine the convention meant different things for those who attended in-person or online, including learning more about various aspects of sobriety and AA, sharing experience, strength, and hope, identifying with other alcoholics, celebrating sobriety, reaffirming AA principles and traditions, and/or an abundance of fellowship.
It’s this last one that stood out for me. By definition, fellowship means “a group of people or an organization with the same purpose”, or “a friendly feeling that exists between people who have a shared interest or are doing something as a group”. As an active alcoholic, the only thing I wanted to do as part of a group was drink, and ideally the alcohol would be provided and paid for by someone in that group. I didn’t know the meaning of fellowship as an active alcoholic because I was too selfish and self-centered, unwilling to give anything to anyone because I was the victim and I was owed – a lot!
Seeing the thousands of people at the convention – AAs, Al-Anons, and Alateens – from all over the world was amazing. A sentence from the chapter ‘There is a Solution’ kept popping into my head: “[w]e are people who would not normally mix.” That has never been more evident to me as it was at the convention! People from all walks of life were there. It was one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever been a part of, this sea of people, all there as a result of Bill W. and Dr. Bob’s meeting in Akron, Ohio 90 years ago. Who could have imagined what would grow from the meeting of two alcoholics who just wanted to find a way to escape the hell of active alcoholism!
The importance of fellowship in AA cannot be stressed enough, in my opinion. The first step begins with “we”, there are numerous examples of the use of “we” throughout the Big Book and in slogans, i.e., ‘We are without defense against the first drink’, ‘We’re only as sick as our secrets’, ‘Today we have a choice’, and according to Naples (Florida) Area Intergroup, the word ‘we’ occurs in the Big Book 1,157 times! So, the word ‘we’ is central to the AA program; there is no ‘we’ if there is no AA. That ‘we’ comes to life in the fellowship; it’s AA in action through meetings, at conventions, in 12-step work, in sponsorship, at the ‘after the meeting’ meeting, and in so many other ways.
I feel blessed to be part of this fellowship. It saved my life, and by following the Steps, listening to others, being willing to take huge leaps of faith, and trusting my HP, I’ve had the opportunity to learn to be the best version of me although I’ll always be a work-in-progress, which is okay. Fellowship in AA has shown me what it means to accept life in life’s terms, forgive, be joyous (even in the face of tragedy), allow my HP to guide me, be of use to others, and much more. By doing service, attending meetings (online or in-person), and trying to live the AA program each day, I can give back to this wonderful fellowship. We are all in this together, and together we make AA what it is. Judging by the convention, the worldwide fellowship of AA is a diverse group of people, each of us with our own story regarding how we got here, but working together to keep AA’s traditions and fellowship intact so that when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help with their drinking, the hand of AA is always there.
Thanks for letting me share. The meeting is now open. I’d love to hear about what AA fellowship means to you.