Blog entry for:

welfare of all the members of the fellowship that has given me this new manner of living, is certainly a concept that is up for interpretation. more than once in my checkered service career have i ended-up being vehemently engaged with one or more of my peers about what exactly this may mean. in the long run, i have been on the correct side of history as many times as i have been on the wrong side. that mixed record provides me the evidence that i do NOT always know what is best and that i NEED to listen as well as spout off my opinions. no matter how many time i have been “right” in recent history, i am far from infallible and truth be told i probably have no real idea what the newcomer today really “needs.”
“our common welfare,” does not just mean how does one carry the message to the newcomer, it also speaks to how one works with others to keep the members that are already here. too often, i hear my peers speaking about carrying a message to the newest members and totally ignoring the needs of those already in the rooms, as if by some magic, their concerns about how meetings are conducted, the language used or how one behaves in meetings take on little to no importance. much too often for my taste, i hear my peers squabbling about the use of gender specific pronouns in the readings and how one “should” take in to consideration, the views of the minority who may feel offended by their use. all of a sudden the needs of the few are being foisted upon the many. i know that this is the era of everybody gets a prize just for showing up.
my experience has been that no matter how uncomfortable i felt about what was read at meetings, i HAD to get over myself if i wanted what was being offered: a new way of life. i am grateful that the members who were here when i got clean, provided me the opportunity to grow my way into the fellowship, rather than candy-coating the less than palatable bits until i was “ready” to look at them. today, i may not “know” what every member “needs” but i am willing to listen to the ideas of others and constructively meld my own into a group conscience that works for everyone.

∞ DT ∞