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[00:00:00.400 – 00:00:09.500] Our guest speaker tonight is our wonderful beloved Bill, and he tells me I’ve thrown him all off stride.

[00:00:09.500 – 00:00:11.700] How can he ever talk now?

[00:00:11.700 – 00:00:18.000] But I never saw the time when he didn’t have a powerful message for all of us.

[00:00:18.000 – 00:00:20.600] And now I would love to present Bill.

[00:00:20.600 – 00:00:35.200] Make things

[00:00:35.200 – 00:00:37.300] come up.

[00:00:37.300 – 00:00:40.600] Where, oh, where shall I begin?

[00:00:40.600 – 00:00:51.600] Well, I could begin as I always do, by saying with

[00:00:51.600 – 00:01:01.700] increasing certainty each year that the advent of the Al-Anon Society

[00:01:01.700 – 00:01:06.200] is the biggest thing that’s happened since AA began.

[00:01:06.200 – 00:01:17.100] And were I to continue my old familiar talk, I would dwell

[00:01:17.100 – 00:01:28.400] on the suffering that our alcoholism has inflicted on you, dear people, and

[00:01:28.400 – 00:01:39.600] remind you that for each of us who groans with the sufferings of alcoholism, even since he dried up, that

[00:01:39.600 – 00:01:45.400] for every one of us, and there are five or ten of you.

[00:01:45.400 – 00:01:56.100] Nor need I dwell on the character of the sufferings and

[00:01:56.100 – 00:01:59.100] the deformities that we have inflicted upon you.

[00:01:59.100 – 00:02:09.200] It would be presumptuous for me to do this because you know better than

[00:02:09.200 – 00:02:10.300] we drunks do.

[00:02:10.300 – 00:02:20.300] So I thought we’d try for a change

[00:02:20.300 – 00:02:30.500] of stance or pace tonight in trying to think together about the significance

[00:02:30.500 – 00:02:41.700] of world service to AA and of course to you today

[00:02:41.700 – 00:02:45.800] and for tomorrow.

[00:02:45.800 – 00:02:57.400] I’m most happily aware that

[00:02:57.400 – 00:03:09.100] a great many of the acute and fearsome problems that we encountered as

[00:03:09.100 – 00:03:19.800] a fledgling society have not been yours because with great skill, you

[00:03:19.800 – 00:03:30.400] have adapted our experience as expressed in the steps and the traditions, and more lately, the concepts

[00:03:30.400 – 00:03:31.700] for world service.

[00:03:31.700 – 00:03:41.700] There has been a perfectly marvelous, and compared with us, a very rapid

[00:03:41.700 – 00:03:44.700] adaptation.

[00:03:44.700 – 00:03:54.900] Actually, I think that AA has

[00:03:54.900 – 00:04:05.000] reached the end of an epoch, and you are nearing this

[00:04:05.000 – 00:04:05.400] end.

[00:04:05.400 – 00:04:15.700] The time when, let us say, that we are satisfied that

[00:04:15.700 – 00:04:26.100] the basics of the twelve steps will be practiced into the indefinite future and

[00:04:26.100 – 00:04:36.200] that the traditions bearing so much upon our unity and upon our action,

[00:04:36.200 – 00:04:39.700] these things are clear.

[00:04:39.700 – 00:04:51.300] Only last year, a last structural refinement was placed

[00:04:51.300 – 00:05:01.100] in our society, the assumption of full responsibility by the AAs on the board of trustees.

[00:05:01.100 – 00:05:11.500] So therefore, we might conclude that

[00:05:11.500 – 00:05:16.000] from here on, everything is just going to be ducky.

[00:05:16.000 – 00:05:19.500] Well, I don’t think so.

[00:05:19.500 – 00:05:26.900] We are living in a world of untold peril.

[00:05:26.900 – 00:05:37.100] We are in a world where man is set against man, group against group,

[00:05:37.100 – 00:05:47.300] nation against nation, as never before in history, and with

[00:05:47.300 – 00:05:52.200] instruments of destruction that defy the imagination.

[00:05:52.200 – 00:06:02.200] It is a very dangerous world, and in our happiness And in our

[00:06:02.200 – 00:06:12.300] newfound unity and in our peaceful pursuit of the general welfare, it is easy for

[00:06:12.300 – 00:06:13.600] us to forget this.

[00:06:13.600 – 00:06:24.000] But is it not true that as we look out upon the world, its divisions

[00:06:24.000 – 00:06:34.000] are no different in kind than those which shattered us, first as alcoholics and

[00:06:34.000 – 00:06:41.000] then as families, to the point of virtual extinction.

[00:06:41.000 – 00:06:50.200] This was our A-bomb, which did not quite go off.

[00:06:50.200 – 00:07:00.200] So then, let us remember that these

[00:07:00.200 – 00:07:02.800] forces are not only around us.

[00:07:02.800 – 00:07:05.600] They are still in us.

[00:07:05.600 – 00:07:07.700] They are late.

[00:07:07.700 – 00:07:18.300] AA and Al-Anon represent,

[00:07:18.300 – 00:07:30.000] in a very real sense, as do the great religions of the world, an aspiration on

[00:07:30.000 – 00:07:40.000] the part of mankind to make constructive use of his instincts, whether they be

[00:07:40.000 – 00:07:46.500] for sex, for possessions, for prestige.

[00:07:46.500 – 00:07:54.200] These instincts were God-given if they are constructively used.

[00:07:54.200 – 00:08:04.400] And our program tries to channel instincts

[00:08:04.400 – 00:08:14.400] gone mad and rampant into the channels of growth in the likeness

[00:08:14.400 – 00:08:22.100] and image of the Father of Light who presides over us all.

[00:08:22.100 – 00:08:34.200] This, as we know, is a halting path punctuated by adversities, and

[00:08:34.200 – 00:08:45.700] we should face, have faced, and will always face the crucial question, are these adversities obviously

[00:08:45.700 – 00:08:49.600] permitted by the Creator?

[00:08:49.600 – 00:08:59.800] Are these adversities going to be converted into destruction or into

[00:08:59.800 – 00:09:04.700] a propellant toward greater things?

[00:09:04.700 – 00:09:13.600] We are driven into AA by sheer, stark, and utter calamity.

[00:09:13.600 – 00:09:24.000] And then we come to a point where we say, but

[00:09:24.000 – 00:09:25.500] how wonderful it is.

[00:09:25.500 – 00:09:32.500] I don’t like all these damn principles exactly, but they look right to me.

[00:09:32.500 – 00:09:42.500] So maybe I will conform not because I wholly wish to, but because they seem good

[00:09:42.500 – 00:09:43.200] and right.

[00:09:43.200 – 00:09:54.100] And now and then we reach a plateau where, for the moment, we

[00:09:54.100 – 00:10:04.400] stand on the mountaintop, and there we conform because this is what we deeply and really want.

[00:10:04.400 – 00:10:14.200] And then the old forces take over, and we slide back down away and get back to the ought to.

[00:10:14.200 – 00:10:25.300] And then we come back to the terrible imperative, the must, because if we fail on the lower rung, then

[00:10:25.300 – 00:10:35.300] it is death or madness by alcoholism, an end into which we take into a

[00:10:35.300 – 00:10:39.600] living death goes about us.

[00:10:39.600 – 00:10:49.800] Now then, the tradition of AA, and when I say AA, I mean Al-Anon

[00:10:49.800 – 00:11:00.000] too throughout this talk, is not a catalog of the virtues of our two

[00:11:00.000 – 00:11:01.100] societies.

[00:11:01.100 – 00:11:11.500] In thoughtless moments, we are apt to forget that all these things

[00:11:11.500 – 00:11:13.300] are in the nature of gifts.

[00:11:13.300 – 00:11:19.700] We forget.

[00:11:19.700 – 00:11:29.900] And so we say, well, with us AAs, the common welfare comes first.

[00:11:29.900 – 00:11:39.600] We say, in Al-Anon and AA, we have democracy in the purest town meeting style.

[00:11:39.600 – 00:11:50.400] In AA, we have no membership rules, whilst other societies

[00:11:50.400 – 00:11:57.400] forge rules, inflict punishments for their infractions.

[00:11:57.400 – 00:12:07.500] Forgetting, of course, that the demon Barlicorn is at the elbow

[00:12:07.500 – 00:12:16.600] always, awaiting to inflict the ultimate punishment for nonconformity.

[00:12:16.600 – 00:12:27.200] And yes, we go on and we say, well, of course we do so well in AA and Al-Anon

[00:12:27.200 – 00:12:33.800] with our specialty that we really have time for these efforts in the world around us.

[00:12:33.800 – 00:12:44.500] Besides, we’re about the best thing that’s come along, and we don’t want to be troubled with the complications of endorsements and alliances and

[00:12:44.500 – 00:12:46.500] all of this sort of thing.

[00:12:46.500 – 00:12:56.500] And then we say, well, of course this is a very spiritual

[00:12:56.500 – 00:13:07.800] outfit, this Al-Anon, this AA, and of course we have observed that even religious institutions

[00:13:07.800 – 00:13:14.700] possessing great amounts of real estate are likely to be somewhat contaminated.

[00:13:14.700 – 00:13:21.700] So we aren’t going to have any real estate, and we’re going to have the least possible property, a la St.

[00:13:21.700 – 00:13:23.300] Francis of Assisi.

[00:13:23.300 – 00:13:30.500] So we go along in this fashion to catalog our virtues.

[00:13:30.500 – 00:13:36.900] These, dear friends, are not our virtues.

[00:13:36.900 – 00:13:45.100] They are the gifts that have come out of the awful imperative of adversity.

[00:13:46.700 – 00:13:57.100] They are a code, really, of accepted dos and don’ts, the failure

[00:13:57.100 – 00:14:07.300] of which can lead to disunity, and from there it is but a step to

[00:14:07.300 – 00:14:10.200] the brink of disaster.

[00:14:10.200 – 00:14:20.400] So in AA and in Al-Anon, we

[00:14:20.400 – 00:14:21.800] have all these gifts.

[00:14:21.800 – 00:14:29.600] In some respects, we are a, a unique island.

[00:14:29.600 – 00:14:36.300] A sort of a paradise in a sense, really.

[00:14:36.300 – 00:14:41.200] Something we scarcely deserve.

[00:14:41.200 – 00:14:44.700] We know not really why we have it, but within God’s mind.

[00:14:44.700 – 00:14:47.000] But here it is.

[00:14:47.000 – 00:14:52.500] Now then, so much for today.

[00:14:52.500 – 00:15:00.500] We can say that the edifice of the spirit in its main outlines is complete.

[00:15:00.500 – 00:15:10.200] That is, it is liken to a cathedral on the great floor of which we stand sure.

[00:15:10.200 – 00:15:20.800] And the sidewalls are there, and we think that they may not fail

[00:15:20.800 – 00:15:24.100] us because they are buttressed by the traditions.

[00:15:24.100 – 00:15:34.200] And now the spire is clearly to be seen

[00:15:34.200 – 00:15:36.200] in the form of service.

[00:15:36.200 – 00:15:47.100] At its apex, world service, a beacon which

[00:15:47.100 – 00:15:56.200] beckons all those who suffer alcoholism and in Al-Anon, its malign consequence.

[00:15:56.200 – 00:16:06.900] Well, this is an unbelievable, unparalleled

[00:16:06.900 – 00:16:08.500] state of affairs.

[00:16:08.500 – 00:16:19.100] Set in a surrounding of immense potential

[00:16:19.100 – 00:16:21.500] destruction.

[00:16:21.500 – 00:16:31.800] Now then, I am not pointing to that destruction as

[00:16:31.800 – 00:16:35.100] though it ought to be the occasion of our fear.

[00:16:35.100 – 00:16:47.500] But clearly enough, it should be the occasion for our prudence and

[00:16:47.500 – 00:16:48.500] our vigilance.

[00:16:48.500 – 00:16:58.600] Not so much the fear of these powers going astray in the world around

[00:16:58.600 – 00:17:06.400] us, as fears that the germs of these things are still in us and can rend our society.

[00:17:06.400 – 00:17:16.900] Now, one of the great unifying forces

[00:17:16.900 – 00:17:28.200] in AA, in addition to the Twelve Steps and

[00:17:28.200 – 00:17:38.200] the spirit of the Twelve Steps as manifested in the traditions, one of the greatest forces for growth and unity

[00:17:38.200 – 00:17:48.300] in our experience in AA, and in more latter years in the experience of

[00:17:48.300 – 00:17:54.000] Al-Anon, has been the world service idea.

[00:17:54.000 – 00:18:04.200] Right at this juncture, people may inquire, “But why don’t

[00:18:04.200 – 00:18:08.100] our society have some sort of government?

[00:18:08.100 – 00:18:18.400] Is there nobody in authority who can issue

[00:18:18.400 – 00:18:19.000] commands?

[00:18:19.000 – 00:18:24.900] Is there no one who can inflict even mild penalties?

[00:18:24.900 – 00:18:33.400] Is there no one who has the authority to collect money?” No.

[00:18:33.400 – 00:18:43.400] We who are the trusted servants of

[00:18:43.400 – 00:18:50.700] the conscience of our two societies are not endowed with any of those attributes.

[00:18:50.700 – 00:19:01.100] Not because we are so superior to the people around us, because we have Barleycorn who says, “You are going to reasonably

[00:19:01.100 – 00:19:09.600] conform or I will kill you.” And then we have the l-love of God and of man which draws us on.

[00:19:09.600 – 00:19:14.200] Are we ever so fortunate.

[00:19:14.200 – 00:19:17.100] But let’s not credit ourselves with it.

[00:19:17.100 – 00:19:27.200] So it may be that as time passes, the

[00:19:27.200 – 00:19:33.800] problems that once generated these traditions will recur.

[00:19:33.800 – 00:19:40.800] To a degree, they will recur with each succeeding generation of Al-Anons and AA.

[00:19:40.800 – 00:19:43.200] They are bound to.

[00:19:43.200 – 00:19:49.300] In fact, I hope they do, up to a point.

[00:19:49.300 – 00:19:59.300] There has never been great anything but good outcome in the long run, and sometimes it’s been the

[00:19:59.300 – 00:20:02.400] mighty long run, in distinction with an AA.

[00:20:02.400 – 00:20:13.100] Up to a point, it is a creator of adversity out of which we may grow as individuals, as groups, and

[00:20:13.100 – 00:20:14.100] as society.

[00:20:14.100 – 00:20:24.500] But when that begins to be expressed in real schisms and what looks like permanent

[00:20:24.500 – 00:20:34.900] divisions, when our internal controversies begin to be apparent in the world around us

[00:20:34.900 – 00:20:45.000] and keep people from looking at the beacons on this fire, then we begin to be

[00:20:45.000 – 00:20:46.900] in trouble.

[00:20:46.900 – 00:20:52.400] So vigilance about these.

[00:20:52.400 – 00:21:02.600] In AA, and I’m sure in Al-Anon, the advice is rightly

[00:21:02.600 – 00:21:05.100] and oft given.

[00:21:05.100 – 00:21:15.300] Living today, tomorrow is gone– uh, yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not

[00:21:15.300 – 00:21:15.800] here.

[00:21:15.800 – 00:21:28.600] This is great advice because obviously

[00:21:28.600 – 00:21:40.600] the fellow who is still trying to live in the past is either living there with his guilt or

[00:21:40.600 – 00:21:46.200] the memory of superficially joyous days that he would like to reenact.

[00:21:46.200 – 00:21:55.000] He is so preoccupied with this thing that he solidifies his own growth and is a drag on people about.

[00:21:55.000 – 00:22:01.100] In the best sense of the word, he is an ultra-conservative.

[00:22:01.100 – 00:22:02.700] He fights change.

[00:22:02.700 – 00:22:04.000] He lives in the past.

[00:22:04.000 – 00:22:12.300] Then we have the people who are over-living in the now, you might say.

[00:22:12.300 – 00:22:18.800] Uh, the main chance in the next hour.

[00:22:18.800 – 00:22:25.400] So they flutter from this to that to the other thing.

[00:22:25.400 – 00:22:35.600] Being so preoccupied by the now that they cannot abstract the lessons from the experience of the past and drag it into

[00:22:35.600 – 00:22:37.300] the now for use.

[00:22:37.300 – 00:22:41.800] And this is the function of the tradition.

[00:22:41.800 – 00:22:52.400] Neither are they able to think about the future, either because they are afraid.

[00:22:52.400 – 00:23:03.200] So they dwell in the present and not necessarily

[00:23:03.200 – 00:23:05.700] with any great or successful growth.

[00:23:05.700 – 00:23:11.200] Then we have these people who are the dreamers.

[00:23:11.200 – 00:23:13.400] They’ll always need a certain number.

[00:23:13.400 – 00:23:24.400] But obviously one cannot emotionally live in the future because the realities of today, he

[00:23:24.400 – 00:23:26.400] can’t operate in the framework of now.

[00:23:26.400 – 00:23:36.800] Now, these are the liabilities that we come to when we divide time into past, present, and

[00:23:36.800 – 00:23:37.400] future.

[00:23:37.400 – 00:23:42.400] But, uh, look at time in another way.

[00:23:42.400 – 00:23:52.600] Is it not with us humans a stream of consciousness on which

[00:23:52.600 – 00:24:00.000] we are borne along from the past into the present and into tomorrow?

[00:24:00.000 – 00:24:10.300] And therefore, I think we must, we must more consciously, while always

[00:24:10.300 – 00:24:20.400] refusing to live emotionally in the past or emotionally in the future, we should be ready to get a sense of history as

[00:24:20.400 – 00:24:30.800] to the experience of yesterday so as to keep those traditions infused with the power

[00:24:30.800 – 00:24:33.000] to guide and protect us today.

[00:24:33.000 – 00:24:37.300] And should we not give thought to tomorrow?

[00:24:37.300 – 00:24:44.900] Not in any fearful sense, but in a sense of prudence and responsibility.

[00:24:44.900 – 00:24:51.200] Where are we going as individuals and society?

[00:24:51.200 – 00:24:52.600] Toward better things?

[00:24:52.600 – 00:24:56.600] Are we settling for complacency?

[00:24:56.600 – 00:25:02.000] Are we crying for space flights?

[00:25:02.000 – 00:25:03.100] What are we doing?

[00:25:03.100 – 00:25:03.900] Is it sound?

[00:25:03.900 – 00:25:08.200] Will it spell progress for tomorrow?

[00:25:08.200 – 00:25:18.600] Well, in the happy state in which we find ourselves in this year of our Lord nineteen sixty-eight,

[00:25:18.600 – 00:25:28.300] all this happiness, all of this wonder, all of these miracles can bring us complacency.

[00:25:28.300 – 00:25:37.600] But let me pose what some of the problems of the future might be.

[00:25:37.600 – 00:25:40.900] Religious schism?

[00:25:40.900 – 00:25:41.600] No.

[00:25:41.600 – 00:25:44.200] Probably never.

[00:25:44.200 – 00:25:55.600] The ecumenical spirit of the world in its solidly uniting front, crossing

[00:25:55.600 – 00:26:05.500] all religions, does away with the possibility that might have arisen even a hundred years ago here and elsewhere.

[00:26:05.500 – 00:26:07.100] No.

[00:26:07.100 – 00:26:09.600] No.

[00:26:09.600 – 00:26:18.700] But in the world today, have you ever thought what would happen if AA had to go underground?

[00:26:18.700 – 00:26:28.800] If our people occasionally faced firing squads?

[00:26:28.800 – 00:26:39.300] You know, I say this not in fear, but just in prudence.

[00:26:39.300 – 00:26:45.700] Let us remember our blessings.

[00:26:45.700 – 00:26:55.800] Let us take right thought for the lessons of yesterday that they may

[00:26:55.800 – 00:27:06.300] or may bear upon today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow for

[00:27:06.300 – 00:27:08.900] so many of them as God would let us have.

[00:27:08.900 – 00:27:12.700] Good night.

[00:27:12.700 – 00:27:13.400] God bless you.

[00:22:01.100 – 00:22:02.700] He fights change.

[00:22:02.700 – 00:22:04.000] He lives in the past.

[00:22:04.000 – 00:22:12.300] Then we have the people who are over-living in the now, you might say.

[00:22:12.300 – 00:22:18.800] Uh, the main chance in the next hour.

[00:22:18.800 – 00:22:25.400] So they flutter from this to that to the other thing.

[00:22:25.400 – 00:22:35.600] Being so preoccupied by the now that they cannot abstract the lessons from the experience of the past and drag it into

[00:22:35.600 – 00:22:37.300] the now for use.

[00:22:37.300 – 00:22:41.800] And this is the function of the tradition.

[00:22:41.800 – 00:22:52.400] Neither are they able to think about the future, either because they are afraid.

[00:22:52.400 – 00:23:03.200] So they dwell in the present and not necessarily

[00:23:03.200 – 00:23:05.700] with any great or successful growth.

[00:23:05.700 – 00:23:11.200] Then we have these people who are the dreamers.

[00:23:11.200 – 00:23:13.400] They’ll always need a certain number.

[00:23:13.400 – 00:23:24.400] But obviously one cannot emotionally live in the future because the realities of today, he

[00:23:24.400 – 00:23:26.400] can’t operate in the framework of now.

[00:23:26.400 – 00:23:36.800] Now, these are the liabilities that we come to when we divide time into past, present, and

[00:23:36.800 – 00:23:37.400] future.

[00:23:37.400 – 00:23:42.400] But, uh, look at time in another way.

[00:23:42.400 – 00:23:52.600] Is it not with us humans a stream of consciousness on which

[00:23:52.600 – 00:24:00.000] we are borne along from the past into the present and into tomorrow?

[00:24:00.000 – 00:24:10.300] And therefore, I think we must, we must more consciously, while always

[00:24:10.300 – 00:24:20.400] refusing to live emotionally in the past or emotionally in the future, we should be ready to get a sense of history as

[00:24:20.400 – 00:24:30.800] to the experience of yesterday so as to keep those traditions infused with the power

[00:24:30.800 – 00:24:33.000] to guide and protect us today.

[00:24:33.000 – 00:24:37.300] And should we not give thought to tomorrow?

[00:24:37.300 – 00:24:44.900] Not in any fearful sense, but in a sense of prudence and responsibility.

[00:24:44.900 – 00:24:51.200] Where are we going as individuals and society?

[00:24:51.200 – 00:24:52.600] Toward better things?

[00:24:52.600 – 00:24:56.600] Are we settling for complacency?

[00:24:56.600 – 00:25:02.000] Are we crying for space flights?

[00:25:02.000 – 00:25:03.100] What are we doing?

[00:25:03.100 – 00:25:03.900] Is it sound?

[00:25:03.900 – 00:25:08.200] Will it spell progress for tomorrow?

[00:25:08.200 – 00:25:18.600] Well, in the happy state in which we find ourselves in this year of our Lord nineteen sixty-eight,

[00:25:18.600 – 00:25:28.300] all this happiness, all of this wonder, all of these miracles can bring us complacency.

[00:25:28.300 – 00:25:37.600] But let me pose what some of the problems of the future might be.

[00:25:37.600 – 00:25:40.900] Religious schism?

[00:25:40.900 – 00:25:41.600] No.

[00:25:41.600 – 00:25:44.200] Probably never.

[00:25:44.200 – 00:25:55.600] The ecumenical spirit of the world in its solidly uniting front, crossing

[00:25:55.600 – 00:26:05.500] all religions, does away with the possibility that might have arisen even a hundred years ago here and elsewhere.

[00:26:05.500 – 00:26:07.100] No.

[00:26:07.100 – 00:26:09.600] No.

[00:26:09.600 – 00:26:18.700] But in the world today, have you ever thought what would happen if AA had to go underground?

[00:26:18.700 – 00:26:28.800] If our people occasionally faced firing squads?

[00:26:28.800 – 00:26:39.300] You know, I say this not in fear, but just in prudence.

[00:26:39.300 – 00:26:45.700] Let us remember our blessings.

[00:26:45.700 – 00:26:55.800] Let us take right thought for the lessons of yesterday that they may

[00:26:55.800 – 00:27:06.300] or may bear upon today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow for

[00:27:06.300 – 00:27:08.900] so many of them as God would let us have.

[00:27:08.900 – 00:27:12.700] Good night.

[00:27:12.700 – 00:27:13.400] God bless you.

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