[Businessmtg] Service ESH

[Jerry]

Greetings from deep in the north woods,

I want to start out mentioning face-to-face meeting service. When I first joined Al-Anon I felt my situation so different and unique that I found it difficult to interact with many members. First, because so stagnant of them were happy (WHAT!!!), but also because I was often the line man in a room full of women who had some legitimate beefs against the men in their lives and often men in general.

By stepping up for the simple service positions (literature chair then treasurer, then Group Rep) I gradually integrated with my new recovery family. I learned it was okay to express myself without losing these important people if we disagreed. I had little experience and no family background of accommodating differences and discovered that when everybody accepts the concept of principles over personalities, folks with conflicting points of view can still love one another and further still work together and get things done. Now there's a life lesson worth continuous service right there!

My sponsor dragged me along to the Alateen meeting he sponsored. Next thing I knew I was sponsoring an Alateen meeting. My ten plus years worth those teens taught me a thing or two about feeling unique. My problems as an adult married to an alcoholic were debilitating all right, but their facing similar and worse situations as a youngster out my life back in perspective.

Service as Group then District Rep opened me up to teamwork with other Al-Anon's with whom I wasn't familiar - and I learned, again, that sticking to principles downplayed the personality differences one finds outside of those home groups and local meetings.

Recovery became more than "What's in it for me." There was work to be done and if we all shared the load it wasn't a strain on just a few. I also learned the benefits of rotation of service. Things weren't only my job; others could do them, too. Once again I found the principles remained though the personalities changed.

When I joined my first on-line Al-Anon group I discovered another source of recovery. Unfortunately that group broke out in verbal squabbles every few months which made for troublesome topic meetings. I left that meeting with a clear understanding that left to run amuck, personalities can severely damage everyone's recovery.

I signed up with A Serenity Place and soon found that it stuck to principles I was familiar with in my F2F meeting, my District meetings, and my Area service meetings. Some time after I joined, ASP's founder, who until then had literally owned the ASP list, elected to follow Al-Anon principles and turned ownership over to the membership. I stood for Treasurer and was elected. The duties were clear and the work was simple - a few hours a month plus a few emails and coordination with the web master. As a member of the Business Meeting from my earliest days there were continuing discussions and a few votes which took minimal time.

I have learned there is strength and unity when our principles are our guides. I have also learned that focusing on personalities can hinder us. I have learned that patience gets us places that forcing solutions never would. And I have learned that our Higher Powers' will, as expressed in our Group Consciences, will lead us to further recovery of we only let them.

And that's my continuing hope: that when we wander a bit off the path of accepting each other - differences and all - that we can search out those peaceful places where we become one with the joys of recovery. Looking over at our topic meetings I am humbled at the fresh recovery of so many. Tending to the few business needs of, what?, nearly a thousand souls is very good work.

My service experiences have helped me to get outside my problems and into solutions. My problems couldn't be resolved by my strength alone, and solutions were best found where many trusting minds were working together.

Jerry
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