August 17th

From Daily Reflections:

A Different Swinging Door

When a drunk shows up among us and says that he doesn’t like the A.A. principles, people, or service management, when he declares that he can do better elsewhere — we are not worried. We simply say, “Maybe your case really is different. Why don’t you try something else?”

If an A.A. member says he doesn’t like his own group, we are not disturbed. We simply say, “Why don’t you try another one? Or start one of your own.”

To those who wish to secede from A.A. altogether, we extent a cheerful invitation to do just that. If they can do better by other means, we are glad. If after a trial they cannot do better, we know they face a choice: They can go mad or die or they return to A.A. The decision is wholly theirs. (As a matter of fact, most of them do come back.)

TWELVE CONCEPTS, PP. 74-75