Having recently attended the annual AA convention, one of the speaker’s theme was focused on the three great legacies; unity, service and recovery. The Unity Declaration reads:

“This we owe to A.A.’s future: to place our common welfare first; to keep our Fellowship united. For on A.A. unity depend our lives and the lives of those to come.” Author Unknown

The fellowship or unity in AA provides the newcomer with the love and support they need to get sober and the encouragement and strength for that continued sobriety. Service in AA is not limited to sponsorship, but involves commitments such as making coffee, offering rides to those who don’t drive, giving their phone number to a new-comer , being a part of a home group and taking responsibilities such as treasurer, secretary, chairperson, or a general service representative. Being in service is being available and responsible when another alcoholic reaches out. The third legacy, Recovery, involves working the steps with a sponsor and practicing them in our lives on a daily basis. Once we have gone through steps 1 through 12, we continue to use what we have learned and in using prayer and meditation, we look more closely at ourselves, praying for God to show us and remove our character defects. These three legacies work one with the other and when we do not practice all three, we will not find the true rewards sobriety has to offer. In fact, without all three, we may not stay sober at all!