Courage to Change:
Thanks to Al-Anon’s Traditions, I am able to have a Sponsor whose politics are abhorrent to me. Although we totally disagree on other issues, this person has helped me learn valuable lessons about serenity, courage, and wisdom. If I had insisted on a Sponsor with political views exactly like my own, I would have missed out on an extraordinarily rich and beneficial relationship.
I think that the spirit of the Tenth Tradition has made this possible. It states that “The Al-Anon Family Groups have no opinion on outside issues; hence our name ought never be drawn into public controversy.” At the group level, this means that I can go to a meeting and know that I won’t be recruited for any particular cause.
As a group, we have a single purpose – to support one another as we recover from the effects of alcoholism. But on a personal level, this Tradition allows me to establish a valuable relationship with a person who, under less supportive conditions, I might have been hard pressed to treat with civility.
Today’s Reminder:
Today I can be more tolerant of other views as I learn to take what I like and leave the rest. I don’t have to let outside issues distract me from my primary spiritual goal. I’ll keep the doors open, for I never know where I might find help.
“Within the fellowship, the one thing that has brought us together must remain our sole concern.”
– Al-Anon’s Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions