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From Daily Afflictions, April 30th:
"My primary purpose is to stay sober. In A.A. I have no other goal, and the importance of this is a matter of life or death for me. If I veer from this purpose I lose. But A.A. is not only for me; it is for the alcoholic who still suffers. The legions of recovering alcoholics stay sober by sharing with fellow alcoholics."
Where in the book does it talk about my primary purpose is to stay sober? That quote is something heard in the format of most meetings and was printed and copyrighted by The GrapeVine in the late '40's. That's why The GrapeVine really is our meeting in print. Both it and Daily Reflections are areflection of our current fellowship.
Our primary spiritual aim is not to stay sober. Our primary spiritual aim is to carry our message to others. Therefore it becomes my primary purpose. "To show others precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.." And therefore my main purpose in Alcoholics Anonymous.
Doctor Silkworth was struck by the community spirit and absence of profit motive he saw in early AA. Later on in Chapter 11, it talks about how at first they realized that they must remain spiritually active if they were to remain sober, which at first was their primary reason for working with others, that motive became transcended by a higher motive, which is the joy found in the giving of one's self to others with no thought of reward.
Doing this work to stay sober only reinforces the "This is a selfish program" B.S. heard in motives. Doing this work to stay sober makes sobriety a profit motive. If I stick to my primary spiritual aim, staying sober is not even something I worry about. Haven't worried about it for a long time.
So there is a higher motive in AA than staying sober. I don't do this to stay sober, I do it because I am sober. I am not driven by the threat of a drink hanging over my head. I do this because I love to do it.
Jim
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