The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Hello, everyone! I hope you are having a good day. Today's author was just surviving from crisis to crisis until they joined the Al-Anon family. They learned from the Traditions how a healthy group or family functions. The Traditions provided a guide for dealing with other people and growing as a person. The author learned about respecting others' privacy, avoiding dominance and control, and being a valued member of a group. The Traditions helped them have "the wisdom to know the difference" between what we must accept and what we can change.
Quote from Al-Anon Spoken Here: "The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions embody principles that lead to recovery and personal growth, helping each of us to discover and become the person we want to be."
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When I first came to Al-Anon, I thought most of the Traditions were for "advanced" Al-Anon people, not desperate newcomers like me. But as I listened to people share how they apply the traditions in everyday life, I came to appreciate more how they can be relevant to anyone, not just group leaders and people serving above the group level.
When someone in one of my first meetings read Tradition 2, and I heard "Our leaders are but trusted servants --- they do not govern" -- I said to myself, "These Al-Anons are my kind of people!" I am so grateful for the humility and cooperation that comes from being and working with trusted servants. I have no interest in governing or being governed by other people. I allowed myself to be governed so much in my life, and it was not always in my best interest. But to learn to trust and be trusted, to wait and be patient while a group conscience emerges, and to let go of my service position when the time comes -- that is how I can be safe, sane, and of service.
...at the moment my favourite tradition is tradition 5. I was lucky, in my early recovery to study the traditions, 12 Concepts, and the Warranties, with both the Alanon 12x12, and also the AA 12x12.
Saw the steps as building my heart- and emotions, and The Traditions as creating a back-bone. ...
Thanks FT for your service and share. I didn't think the Traditions had any purpose for me at all, when I was new to program. In my F2F we try to have the leader for the month do one of the Traditions. I started to "listen and learn" and also saw how they apply to me and people I'm involved with. They are part of the blueprint for life I find alanon provides me with. As a born follower and codependent, I find there is mutuality in our program. No one is the boss and all are respected. I like that, Lyne
Thanks for your service, Freetime... 
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