[Businessmtg] 1st Step Shares

[Jerry]

Biz-Pals, 

Without a doubt I believe that if we were to do an Our First Step addition it should be sourced in ASP member shares alone. Newcomers come to a 1st Step meeting/page and hear from members in that particular group. WSO podcasts are fine for folks who choose to go there, but remember, we are an autonomous group and losing that identity helps neither ASP nor the WSO. 

There is, to my taste, way too much WSO first, ASP second in many affairs entering into ASP considerations of late. Discussions of such stuff is good for the group, but putting WSO decisions and choices above ASP making its own decisions through group consciences smacks of control at worst, or the mistaken reading of the Al-Anon organization chart which has sometimes over the years been published upside down with the WSO on top and the groups on the bottom which is just the opposite of what Concept One requires: 

Concept 1: The ultimate responsibility and authority for Al-Anon world service belongs to the Al-Anon groups. 
Tradition 4: Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting another group or Al-Anon or AA as a whole. 
Tradition 2: For our group purpose there is but one authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 

Now, having that link to WSO podcasts as an adjunct to our own First Step Stories page makes sense. But leaning on the WSO podcasts to express our stories by proxy isn't exactly being self-supporting (Tradition 7) is it. I recall the Silver Rule: 

Don't do unto others what they can do for themselves - which when reversed in principle works very well, too: Do for yourself what you can rather that relying on others to do things for you. Many lessons in this line of thinking. 

Hugs, 
Jerry 
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