A COMMON SOLUTION

Ah, my friend, 'A Common Solution' gets right to the heart of what makes AA work. You see, the Big Book tells us that alcoholics are 'people who normally would not mix' but who find they 'have a common solution' [Page 17]. This is the great leveler — regardless of our background, religion, or walk of life, the malady is the same, and so is the remedy. We read in Chapter Five that 'there is a solution' — not many solutions, not a customized fix for each person, but one pathway that has worked for millions [Page 58]. That pathway is the Twelve Steps, a spiritual program of action. The beauty is that when we share our experience, strength, and hope, we find we are all speaking the same language. As the Promises assure us, 'We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it' [Page 83] — this happens because we have all taken the same steps. So the common solution is not about uniformity; it's about unity in diversity. We come from every corner of life, but we walk the same road to freedom.