ARE YOU AN ACTIVE MEMBER,
THE KIND THAT WOULD BE MISSED
OR ARE YOU JUST CONTENTED
THAT YOUR NAME IS ON THE LIST?
DO YOU ATTEND THE MEETINGS
AND MINGLE WITH THE FLOCK?
OR DO YOU MEET IN PRIVATE
AND CRITICIZE AND KNOCK?
DO YOU TAKE AN ACTIVE PART
TO HELP THE WORK ALONG?
OR ARE YOU SATISFIED TO BE
THE KIND THAT JUST BELONGS?
DO YOU WORK ON COMMITTEES,
TO THIS THERE IS NO TRICK;
OR LEAVE THE WORK TO JUST A FEW,
AND TALK ABOUT THE CLIQUE?
PLEASE COME TO THE MEETINGS OFTEN,
AND HELP WITH HAND AND HEART.
DON'T BE JUST A MEMBER
BUT TAKE AND ACTIVE PART.
THINK THIS OVER, MEMBERS,
YOU KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT FROM WRONG.
ARE YOU AN ACTIVE MEMBER
OR DO YOU JUST BELONG?
1 comment:
When I first sobered up I was really a "service junkie." I did everything from make coffee, scrub ashtrays weekly at hall cleanup and literature rep at the hall to carrying the message to detox and correctional facilities. I was on the Intergroup board until I was too big pregnant to fit behind the steering wheel. When the baby came, my service was very different. I coordinated the after-hours (now called "nightwatch") phones for Intergroup and the child care for my home group. I usually had another single mom under my wing, just hanging out doing sober stuff like people did with me when I was new. I realized when I had the baby that I would miss being SO involved with every area of A.A., but at the same time I knew that too soon my time would be my own again, that our children are with us for a brief season. Last year my home group needed someone to rotate in as GSR and I realized that since my "baby" was then 14, I could be available for that. People who had known me all of their sobriety--some over 15 years--were very surprised that last fall was the first Area Assembly I had attended. I have since become the Alt. DCM for my District, and my gratitude grows and grows. For me, this is part of staying in the middle of the herd, since I learned early on that it is those at the edges who get picked off. I share this not to say how terrific I am, but to let folks know how service has blessed me. There is no question who is getting the benefit in this relationship. Perhaps I am giving a bit back to A.A., but service has been a vital part of my recovery and a way to meet really strong A.A.'s that are there for me when I need support.
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