How Do You Stay Teachable?

Twelfth Step Work: What Is It?

When one of the guys I sponsor took his six-month chip, he asked me when I thought he'd be ready to work with someone else. I responded, "You see that guy over there? He came in sixty days after you. You have been (unwittingly) working with him by showing up here every week and sharing how sober principles have changed your life." The opportunities to give back what this program has given are present every minute of every day, whether we're dealing directly with another alcoholic or not. Of course, I need to go to the missions and hospitals and jails. That keeps me sober! But I try to remain conscious that my actions outside AA are watched by people I'm not even aware of and those actions speak just as loudly for (or against) AA.