In Alcoholics Anonymous, you will sometimes find a simple plant quietly growing on a table in a meeting hall, a Central Office, or in the home of a grateful member. It is often called a Bill W. plant.
It may just look like a plant.
But to many in recovery, it represents something much bigger.
It represents how recovery grows.
Where the Bill W. Plant Comes From
Near the end of his life, Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, had a Swedish Ivy plant in his office. After his passing in 1971, Bill’s wife Lois took the plant back to their home at Stepping Stones, where it continued to be cared for. Over time, cuttings were shared with A.A. members, who began sharing new clippings again and again throughout the Fellowship.
Like the A.A. message itself, it spread not through organization or planning, but simply because one alcoholic shared with another.
And it is still spreading today.
There is something fitting about this particular plant becoming part of A.A. culture.
Swedish ivy grows stronger when it is trimmed.
New plants grow easily from small cuttings.
When you give part of it away, it doesn’t diminish — it multiplies.
Sound familiar?
This is the same principle we live by in recovery:
We keep what we have by giving it away.
Much like sobriety, the plant does best when it is:
Many members say they didn’t expect to care much about a small plant… until they learned the story. Then it became something they protected, nurtured, and eventually shared.
Our Bill W. plant came to Dallas Intergroup the same way most do — one A.A. member sharing with another.
That simple act connects our office to a much larger story:
One plant.
Many clippings.
Countless lives touched by recovery.
We see it as a living reminder of our primary purpose:
To help the still suffering alcoholic.
At Dallas Intergroup, we are share as many clippings of this plant as often as we can, with as many alcoholics as we can.
Because this isn’t really about a plant.
It’s about participation in something bigger than ourselves.
Every clipping represents:
Someone who answered the phone
Someone who made coffee
Someone who sponsored us
Someone who told us to keep coming back
And now, it’s our turn.
If you receive a clipping from the Bill W. plant, we hope you’ll think of it as more than a decoration.
We hope you’ll see it as a token of Unity, Service, and Recovery.
We encourage you to:
Because just like A.A., it thrives best when we pass it on.
If you would like a clipping from the Dallas Intergroup Bill W. plant, just ask. We would be honored to share it with you. Send an e-mail to [email protected] to request your clipping.
One alcoholic sharing with another. One story at a time. One clipping at a time. 🌱
