Tradition Two
For our group purpose there is but one authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants—they do not govern.
Please share your experience, strength, and hope as it relates to Tradition 2. The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest. Member sharing on the Member Blog may be used in future Al‑Anon publications.
Tradition Two started to inspire me when I started to be actively active at different levels of service and it still does. This Tradition helps me to stay away from wanting to “run the show”. To keep this desire to “run the show”, I always ask, in the middle of exchanges that are becoming not “so becoming” to Al-Anon and always when a vote is taken, that we stop for a minute and ask our loving God to be with us. We then ask Him to guide our discussions and our decisions. This has always proven to work for the… Read more »
I like knowing that we are all equal in our groups. For so long, I sought everyone’s approval and was devastated when I didn’t get it. In this group I don’t need to impress anyone. I am accepted just as I am. The authority is not the sole responsibility of one person – not even a group of people. God is the only authority.
When I was ready to look at Tradition Two, after being in the program for a while, I found it inspiring as it reminded me who the authority was and realised that I was not it!! I also appreciated the fact that it said “a loving God as He may express Himself” as this told me that He liked me very much and that it was possible that He express Himself, if asked. Today, I often use Tradition Two and it works. I know today that in my life there is one authority and that it is my loving God.… Read more »
Tradition 2 gives me comfort knowing that I can use my voice and that no one will judge me as I express my thoughts and feelings. It gives me the safe space I never had to openly speak without feeling rejected, criticized, or diminished. It takes away the invisibility I have felt for a very large part of my life.
Tradition Two didn’t get my attention when I first came to Al-Anon. This Tradition starting with “but one authority” was not suiting me. It was also hard for me to grasp the concept that a loving God could help resolve human differences, conflicts, discussions and opinions, especially if they were going in all kinds of directions. I had also experienced questionable leadership, so I had my back turned to the idea of “trusted servants”. Some of the servants, in various organisations with which I had worked, had brought havoc in situations and as a result I had developed trust issues.… Read more »
When I went to my first meeting I was looking for the person “in charge” to tell me what these meeting were all about and what I was supposed to do there. I was so used to being told what to do and how to do it. Imagine my surprise when no one approached me as the “leader”. There were no signs that said check in here. There were no forms to fill out to see if I qualified to be there. I had discovered a place so foreign to me yet this place came to be the safest, most… Read more »
This Tradition gives everybody the right to express themselves, which is not always an accepted and respected principle with many people and in many places. However, this Tradition allows people to express themselves without being afraid of being judged, being remembered that they were wrong or being made fun of. Many times, I went through those experiences in my life, where I felt belittled and judged or any other ways that took away from my confidence in myself and trust in others. With time I felt threatened, so I started to express anger, used control and dominance and gave myself… Read more »
I love this Tradition! #2 allows us to recover in a very unique way. When we meet we know that there is a loving God watching out for us, understanding us. We don’t need our “leaders” whether they are meeting chair persons, GRs, treasurers, DRs or any others to tell us what to do or think. I had plenty of that thru the growing up years and well into my adulthood. Until Al-Anon I believed my thoughts didn’t matter. I learned otherwise in Al-Anon. I grew up, developed self-esteem, and MOST importantly realized that I could trust my Higher Power.… Read more »
Tradition Two is helping me when I need it now during quarantine. Our groups that previously met in person are finding new ways to organize. It’s not perfect and there’s no one person telling us how this should be done. We’ve made group conscience decisions and one of my groups meets online and another group meets in-person. In some ways, I want stability and predictability and I want a leader to tell me what to do. But I am grateful that there is no one person in charge so that each of my groups can decide what is best for… Read more »
I embrace the fellowship with like-minded believers. There is one God and he loves us all. He is no respecter of persons and one sin is no worse then another in his eyes. He has given us all the opportunity to live in his grace, to receive his mercy, to be given his strength. We are ambassadors for Christ and as such, people see Christ through us. God can love others through us. My devotional prayer this morning read: Lord, love people through me regardless of their actions and their words. This is something that we have to have in… Read more »
I love this Tradition. It allows me to know that I need to be equal with others. That there is only one authority. That is the Higher Power. When I am willing to be open-minded, to listen, and learn, I am able to grow. Feel life. The life God has given me. We are all leaders coming together to share our skills. Leaving the egos at the door. EGO = Erase God Out. This Tradition reminds me who is in charge, and it’s not me.
Recently, I have attended a few Al-Anon meetings where new members made the mistake of cross-talking; referring to a book that wasn’t CAL; or mentioning Bill W. During these meetings, I watched some members react to these new members by storming out of a meeting; shouting out “No Cross Talk!,” or barking reprimands like “we don’t do that here.” I look at these older members and think to myself, “really?” Are we really working the program like Tradition 2 encourages — lovingly expressing ourselves as we hope our one authority, our Higher Power also expresses Himself? Why would you shame… Read more »
This Tradition saves people from people like me. Thinking I always had the solutions to your problems. 😁 It was always easier to look at your problems while avoiding mine. Thanks to this Tradition I am now able and willing to be a part of instead of being in charge of and for that I am grateful . Group conscience has always shown me a better way to solve any problem that may arise in our district.
This not only helps me in my group, but also in my family. Understanding that we all have a say with important issues. It’s not left up to just one person. That there is a power greater than ourselves that we can turn to.
When I was growing up in the alcoholic home there was one authority and that authority was my father. He made all the decisions for the family – there was no discussion. I got married to my first husband, he was the authority and he made all the decisions. When I came in to Al-Anon the people there seem to have something a little extra that I wanted but not everyone had it, so I listened to see what it was that they had that I didn’t have. It was all three Legacies not just the Steps, but the Traditions… Read more »
Tradition Two, filled with wisdom, takes away my pride, makes me realize that my human mind is limited and it also tells me that I need guidance in whichever decision I must take. My Higher Power is there to guide me, and although I can see myself as very wise at times, I must be humble enough not to interfere with His work. Having tendency to be “bossy”, although I called it “leading” in those days, this Tradition was quite a task to apply in my life at the beginning. However, the principles of the program and the members brought… Read more »