them were indifferent. Typically there are 4 to 5 patients, although some days there are many more. One time there was only one Chinese patient and he couldn’t speak or understand English. One of the staff was kind enough to take time off work and be the interpreter. As we started sharing our experience, strength and hope, we could see the lights switch on in some of their eyes. I remember that light in my early sobriety when I was 12 stepped. That’s identification and a sense of relief that I’m not a freak and I’m not alone. These guys may be what I would characterize as low bottom drunks, but as they shared their own stories I realised that I could easily be one of them. These were people with homes, jobs, families and education. The disease took it all away. We see the downward spiral and the realization dawns that I’m indeed one of them. Their story is my story, too. Their stories demonstrate the stark reality of our disease – progressive and fatal. It doesn’t matter what their background is, the symptoms of the disease are the same. Like it says in the big book, this disease brings about the annihilation of all things worthwhile in life. I’m not one to revel in another’s misfortune, but I do feel a deep sense of gratitude when I’m in that meeting – more so than any other meeting. I go to the IMH to spread the message that there is a solution and it works. We share our experience in recovery, and what we do to stay sober. The one special thing about the IMH meeting is that crosstalk is allowed and questions are encouraged. Questions tend to be about how we cope with temptation, how severe was withdrawal, what we tell our drinking buddies etc. We share our experience in Alcoholics Anonymous and how the 12 Step program is a solution that works. We tell them that alcoholism is a disease that may be incurable, but can be arrested. We share how the meetings and other members’ kindness and service have contributed towards our recovery. And we share how the program has changed our lives by removing the obsession to drink. Although only one person has ever called me from the IMH, and though most of them are admitted again shortly after they’re discharged, it’s still a very successful meeting. Because at least one alcoholic stays sober – ME. No matter how they respond or don’t respond, I always stay sober that day. So if you’re struggling with fear or resentment, depression or anxiety, come to the IMH. “…nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail.”* Hope to see you there soon to carry the message! Vikram *Alcoholics Anonymous, p.89.

“I’d like to make amends for stealing your husband. I’m sober now. Will you take him back?”

—Kathleen M., West Hartford, Conn.

“Only the wisest and stupidest men never change.” Confucius “Three rules of work: Out of clutter find simplicity; out of discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Lao Tzu “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it from without.” Buddha

The Alcoholics Anonymous concepts of World service The Twelve Concepts for World Service were written by A.A.’s co-founder Bill W., and were adopted by the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1962. The Concepts are an interpretation of A.A.’s world service structure as it emerged through A.A.’s early history and experience. The short form of the Concepts read: 6. The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the A.A. purse for final effectiveness. This Concept attempts to clarify the relationship and “balance of powers” between the Conference and the General Service Board. “This . . . may look like the collision of an irresistible force with an immovable object.” On the one hand, “the board is invested with complete legal power over A.A.’s funds and services; on the other hand the Conference is clothed with such great influence and financial power it could overcome the legal rights of the board.“Thus, the practical power of the Conference is, in the final analysis, superior to the legal power of the board. This superior power derives from the traditional influence of the Conference Charter itself; from the fact that the delegates chosen by the groups always constitute more than two-thirds of the Conference members”; and finally from the ability of the delegates to cut off financial support by the groups. “Theoretically, the Conference is an advisory body only; but practically speaking, it has all the ultimate power it may ever need.” The Conference “recommends” — though its recommendations have the force of directives to the board. The board executes these recommendations. The board does have the legal authority to veto a Conference recommendation — but in actual practice, it never has done so. As Bill tactfully puts it, the trustees “simply refrain from using their legal right to say ‘no’ when it would be much wiser, all things considered, to say ‘yes’. Do we act responsibly regarding the “power of the purse?” Do we realize that the practical and spiritual power of the Conference will nearly always be superior to the legal power of the G.S.B.?

7. The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities. This Concept deals with the ways the General Service Board “discharges its heavy obligations,” and its relationship with its two subsidiary corporations: A.A. World Services, Inc. and the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. Long experience has proven that the board “must devote itself almost exclusively to the large questions of policy, finance, group relations and leadership . . . . In these matters, it must act with great care and skill to plan, manage and execute.” The board, therefore, must not be distracted or burdened with the details or the endless questions which arise daily in the routine operation of the General Service Office or the publishing operations, including the Grapevine. “It must delegate its executive function” to its subsidiary, operating boards. “Here, the board’s attitude has to be that of custodial oversight . The trustees are the guarantors of good management of A.A. World Services, Inc. and the A.A. Grapevine, Inc by electing the directors of these service arms, a part of whom must always be trustees . The executive direction of these functions is lodged in the service corporations themselves, rather than the General Service Board. Each corporate service entity should possess its own bylaws, its own working capital, its own executives, its own employees, its own offices and equipment.” Bill draws from earlier mistakes by the General Service Board in trying to run the service functions directly and warns repeatedly against “too much concentration of money and authority.” Do we understand the relationship between the two corporate service entities (A.A. World Services, Inc., the A.A. Grapevine) and the General Service Board? How can the business term “custodial oversight” apply to the trustees’ relationship to the two corporate service entities? Does my home group subscribe to G.S.O.’s bimonthly newsletter Box 4-5-9? The A.A.Grapevine? Do I?

8. Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees. “No matter how carefully we design our service structure of principles and relationships, no matter how well we apportion authority and responsibility, the operating results of our structure can be no better than the personal performance of those who must man it and make it work. Good leadership cannot function well in a poorly designed structure. Weak leadership can hardly function at all, even in the best of structures.” Due to A.A.’s principle of rotation, furnishing our service structure with able and willing workers has to be a continuous effort. The base of the service structure — and the source of our leadership — is the General Service Representative. The G.S.R. is the service leader for his or her group, the indispensable link between the group and A.A. as- a-whole. Together the G.S.R.s are A.A.’s group conscience — and together, in their areas, they elect the area committee members and ultimately the delegates and the area’s candidates for trustee. Groups who have not named G.S.R.s should be encouraged to do so. And as the G.S.R.s meet in area assemblies, care and dedication are required. Personal ambitions should be cast aside; feuds and controversies forgotten. “Who are the best qualified people?” should be the thought of all. “No society can function well without able leadership in all its levels, and A.A. can be no exception. Fortunately, our Society is blessed with any amount of real leadership — the active people of today and the potential leaders of tomorrow as each new generation of able members swarms in. We have an abundance of men and women whose dedication, stability, vision, and special skills make them capable of dealing with every possible service assignment. We have only to seek these folks out and trust them to serve us. “A leader in A.A. service is therefore a man (or woman) who can personally put principles, plans and policies into such dedicated and effective action that the rest of us want to back him and help him with his job. “Good leadership will also remember that a fine plan or idea can come from anybody, anywhere.

Consequently, good leadership will often discard its own cherished plans for others that are better, and it will give credit to the source. “Good leadership never passes the buck. Once assured that it has, or can, obtain sufficient general backing, it freely takes decisions and puts them into action forthwith, provided of course that such actions be within the framework of its defined authority and responsibility. “Another qualification for leadership is ‘give and take,’ the ability to compromise cheerfully whenever a proper compromise can cause a situation to progress in what appears to be the right direction. We cannot, however, compromise always. Now and then, it is truly necessary to stick flat-footed to one’s convictions about an issue until it is settled. Our leaders do not drive by mandate, they lead by example. We say to them, ‘Act for us, but do not boss us. Do we discuss how we can best strengthen the composition and leadership of our future trusted servants? Do we recognize the need for group officers? What are our criteria for election? Do we sometimes give a position to someone “because it would be good for them?” Do I set a positive leadership example?(This is A.A. General Service Conference- approved literature, Copyright 1986, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc Numbers 6, 7 and 8 of the concepts of the Twelve Concepts is reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc. “We should always realize that change does not necessarily spell progress. We are sure that each new group of workers in world service will be tempted to try all sorts of innovations that may often produce little more than a painful repetition of earlier mistakes … And if mistaken departures are nevertheless made, these Concepts may then provide a ready means of safe return to an operating balance that might otherwise take years of floundering to rediscover.” AA Co-Founder, Bill W., September 1990, from: “The Twelve Concepts” AA Grapevine Copyright c. 1944-2012. AA Grapevine, Inc. All Rights Reserved.