No Price Tag
The joy of living is the theme of AA’s 12th step and action is the principle behind it. This concept helps us to experience the kind of giving that asks no rewards, and here we can practice all of the 12 steps in the 12 steps we use in our daily lives we seek to change; we see the kind of love that has no price tag on it.
By reaching out the hand of AA when it is asked for, we find that we are no longer isolated and alone in a self-contained prison, that we are no longer square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in every part of HIS scheme of things.
This step claims that true ambition is not what we thought: it is to live usefully and walk with humility, all under the grace of God. When life isn’t going the way I want it to, I try every time to pick up the phone so I can learn how another alcoholic is faring, to offer my assistance, to meditate and pray to God eagerly.
As it says on p. 124, I can understand that “true leadership is being an example, and has nothing to do with power and glory. Step 12 is a joyful look at how our lives can turn around and we can be content with what we have and not want more; it is the culmination the God-directed program given us by Bill and Bob.”
Please read pages 107 and 124 in the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, New York, third edition, 1959, and share with us your experience with Step 12.