The Spirit of Tradition Eleven

My earliest memories are of me playing in front of the mirror. The game I played consisted of me pretending to be famous and answering questions from an invisible interviewer. I remember what a blast it was, mimicking TV commercials, award ceremonies, and entertainment shows. Twenty years later, I found myself in a public relations and marketing career, getting paid to promote, persuade, and motivate.

Discovering Tradition Eleven (and frankly, all the Steps and Traditions) was like encountering a foreign language. No promotion? No celebrity endorsements? No film at eleven? I initially rationalized Tradition Eleven’s anonymity Principle this way: We in OA have a disease that we should be ashamed of. Keep it secret.

As I continue to bring my sick body and mind to meetings, however, I also heard such concepts as “we are as sick as our secrets.” I figured it was important to share honestly at meetings, but nowhere else. OA meetings were islands of safety and respite, like the island of Molokai was for those with leprosy.

Higher Power has given me many opportunities to understand Tradition Eleven in the spirit that it was written. In recovery, we in OA are not ashamed of our illness. We want to carry the message to those who still suffer. The vehicles we have chosen to carry this message, however, are not promotion based. They are attraction based. But what does this mean? In both my career and my childhood fantasies, to attract always meant to promote aggressively and competitively.

Today, I understand that promotion of OA with spokespersons or advertising rollouts would harm individual members and the recovery community. Our “advertising” has a different look and feel: It is in the quiet of a newcomer’s abstinence that I feel hope. It is in the humility of a relapsing longtimer that I experience gratitude. It is in the perseverance of members who are in pain that I know recovery. It is in giving anonymous service that I feel rewarded. I am deeply moved and attracted by these authentic experiences.

Though I still love makeover shows that transform individuals in thirty minutes, I don’t trust them as real. I do trust Overeaters Anonymous because I have learned over the years that humility is the best public relations policy, and carrying the message can be done over time, with love rather than ego leading the way.

— Edited and reprinted from Today newsletter, St. Louis Bi-State Area Intergroup, November 2005