Rule Sixty Two - Daily Mens Check In Meeting

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RULE 62

"Don’t take yourself so damn seriously."

The story is described in Alcoholics Anonymous book The Twelve Step and the Twelve Traditions (known in AA as the 12 and 12). The basic story is that early in the history of AA, a group out in the hinterlands somewhere convinced the local town to fund a recovery/treatment/AA facility. This was going to be an elaborate facility with space for medical treatment, residential recovery, and AA meetings. The local group setting all this up started coming up with rules on how the place would be run, who could be admitted etc. And naturally, there was much disagreement over all this. To try to resolve their differences, they sent a copy of their 61 rules to the NY office of AA. The volunteers at NY had no idea on how to run a large facility or what to say to this group about their rules. While they were discussing it, another message from the group was delivered saying simply: Rule 62, don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Apparently, they had decided that the potential ego-driven rewards of running a big facility were not worth the risk of tearing their group apart.

This episode is used to illustrate the development of AA’s fourth tradition: Each group should be autonomous…

UNITY

Unity has provided us with a fellowship made up of people who share our own common problem; who give us the love and support necessary to maintain our sobriety. AA’s 12 Traditions present the principles which support the unity of the AA fellowship at the group level. ” AA’s 12 Traditions apply to the life of the Fellowship itself. They outline the means by which AA maintains it’s unity and relates to the world about it, the way it lives and grows.” from AA co-founder Bill W.

RECOVERY

Recovery has given us a second chance to find happiness and freedom; to live useful and productive lives. The 12 steps and the Big Book are know as Recovery and are the entire foundation of the program. Bill W.’s words in the forward of the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions states that; “AA’s 12 Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the suffered to become happily and usefully whole”

SERVICE

Service offers us the opportunity to implement our primary purpose ” to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers” Service in AA is based in the 12 spiritual principles know as the 12 Concepts, which are found in the General Service Manual and the appendix of the Big Book of AA. “Our Twelfth Step – carrying the message – is the basic service that the AA Fellowship gives; this is our principle aim and the main reason for our existence. Therefore, AA is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither, and those who haven’t been given the truth may die.” from AA’s Legacy of Service, The AA service Manual

LAUGHTER

We are not a glum lot. We take our sobriety seriously, but we have a good time doing it. If laughter is the best medicine, then Rule 62 is a very healthy place indeed. We laugh a lot, but are truly sincere about helping each other in all circumstances.