Traditions Responsible Acceptance By admin Posted on April 1, 2018 3 min read 2 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr At first, the Traditions had little meaning to me. At the place and time I attended meetings, the Traditions were not emphasized, so I pretty much ignored them. Oh, sure, I finally saw that the Traditions kept groups functioning, but they still didn’t mean much to me personally. My responsibility seemed to be the Steps. When I started to wake up to the Seventh Tradition’s spiritual Principle, “responsibility,” it meant putting money in the basket. As a light gradually dawned, I slowly realized that the group needed more than money. So now it also meant giving service. Surprise, surprise! Eventually the responsibility became personal, something to be practiced in my outside life as well as in my relationship with the group. I have to take responsibility for what I eat, what I say, my actions, my errors, and more. I have a disease, which is no one’s fault, but it is my responsibility to accept what helps me live in recovery. I take responsibility for my attitudes and my reactions to people and events: people and events don’t hurt my feelings, but my own agenda might cause me to think they have. The world isn’t unfair because I drop an egg, it’s simply gravity and I dropped it. I can accept my mistakes with serenity because I know I’m human, and I accept I will never be perfect. Taking responsibility means I can quit blaming God, bad luck, or other people. Taking responsibility and admitting I made a mistake does not mean I have to feel ashamed or guilty. I’m just human, living life on life’s terms. — Betty See how your Seventh Tradition Contribution benefits both the Fellowship and your recovery. Download the Seventh Tradition Cycle from oa.org/documents under the “Seventh Tradition” section.
