"I heard that we can't keep what we have unless we give it away. And so I found a woman someone a little newer than I was and I shared with her what you had shared with me. Looking back on it, I doubt that I helped this woman very much, but I helped myself beyond measure. I stayed sober, day by day, through sharing my experience, strength, and hope with her, through putting action into the A.A. program while, at the same time, waiting for her, not forcing my action on her. This was patience supporting the action, though I didn't call it patience at the time; the word was not a part of my emotional vocabulary."
1973 AAWS, Inc.
Came to
Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg.
42