Maintaining Group Focus
Having no opinion on outside issues also means not promoting our businesses in the group or making private social plans in the meeting.
Tradition Ten extends neutrality into the practical running of the group. Having no opinion on outside issues also means not promoting our businesses in the group or making private social plans in the meeting. The group's space and time are consecrated to the work of recovery. When we mix in external concerns—commerce, dating, personal networking—we dilute the spiritual power of the meeting.
This teaches me a spiritual boundary: Keep the main thing the main thing. My meeting is a place for healing, not self-promotion. This discipline creates a level playing field, ensuring that everyone who walks through the door is there for the same singular purpose. It costs me the temptation to leverage my recovery connections for personal gain, but it rewards me with the profound, pure safety of an unadulterated meeting.
Today, if I attend a meeting, I will consciously avoid bringing up any outside, non-program topics (e.g., job, social event, consumer review) and will limit my sharing exclusively to my experience, strength, and hope related to the Steps.
