Talking and communicating with friends in the program today it was about what we find we value most. The actual copies of the Big Book and the 12&12. One of my friends, because they live in a place where they’re open to hurricanes, said that the first thing on their list, if they have to vacate their house is both of those books.
I remember, when I came in, the first thing I got was the Third Edition. Not a gift either. I was told that I would probably value that book more, if I had to pay for it. The truth is that my value for the book is for what is in it.
One of the things we talked about was the almost miracle of those early members, who took part in the writing and editing of the BB. Here it is some eighty years later and what was written then not only still has value today, but it’s the truth. The facts speak for themselves. And how did that all come about from men, who weren’t all that sober at the time? Is that amazing or what?
I know that after all these years in here I still go back and reread the BB and the 12&12. Things I need to be reminded of. Things which I forgot. I can’t remember how many times others would call me and ask me where this passage of saying was located in the books. I still read from the first 164 pages. Still learning. Things, which I know I have read before, sometimes jump right out at me, because they suddenly have an impact on me that I somehow missed before. I have heard others say the same thing.
I still read the stories. I and others talk about how we identify with most of them. I even have a copy put out by New York, which contains stories taken out of each edition. I go back and read them over and over.
One of my friends, who has a lot of years in, said that they read the BB everyday. It’s their guide. I believe that’s what it is for all of us. In one way or another we all get what we need. But it’s also a lesson to me. I may think I know a lot, but I really don’t. The fact that I have to go back and reread and restudy tells me that. And, I also realize that no matter how long I stay sober, I will never be done with learning and practicing what’s in these books.
I’m grateful for all those old timers and my sponsor that they kept insisting that I read and study these books. Like so many others, I hold them in great value.