Service. Being of service, attending a service, servicing up and gettin’ busy. Service. In the context of which we speak, service is an incredibly important part of the recovery tip. “Gotta give it away to keep it.” comes to mind along with a slew of other slogans on meeting hall walls across the globe. Also the whole premise of recovery (and I’ll speak from the fellowship I know best if you wanna add to it PLEASE feel free) the Three Legacies … you know the AA symbol? Come on now ya’ll have had to have seen the triangle in the circle thingamabob.
Unity, Service, Recovery. Unity=Fellowship, Recovery=Stepwork; and if you hadn’t guessed it then let me be crystal. S E R V I C E. Now this can vary from signing up to make coffee to volunteering to go into Institutions (treatment centers and jails et cetera) to carry the message to the still suffering. Missionary work 12 step style, cept’ with cursing (sometimes jeeze) and real and raw and the sharing of our OWN experience, strength, and hope. ‘Stead of telling someone else what to do … we share what WE did to get and stay sober/clean.
Pretty novel concept eh? There are so many ways to get active in your fellowship; some exasperating (General Service Rep … intergroup rep … you know all that “meeting of the minds” stuff.) and some simply so rewarding (seeing the message of recovery light up a newcomers face) that it can make one weep. Talking on the phone, sponsoring, chairing meetings, pickin’ up the donuts, giving rides, 12 step calls; simply DOING SOMETHING is paramount.
The idea here is that it is SO vital to give away and give back that it’s part of the three cornerstones for our programs. Not to mention, the last but not least step. I like to think of it as “save the best for last step”. But that’s just me. Now. One has to have something to give … to be of service no? We all have that. It’s called our “time”. Taking the time to shake someones hand ie “greeter” at a meeting … is part of service work. One day or a thousand … we can do that.
When people say GET ACTIVE … this, right here, is exactly what they mean. Now volunteering to be a group representative for the many service groups can be an exercise in patience … albeit extremely rewarding. For example, the time that I spent as a GSR I was afforded the privilege of participating in the conference to pick the new stories for the Fourth Edition of the Big Book for our area. Everytime I look at my Big Book I remember that. Neat stuff. More importantly, every time I look into a newcomers eyes that I’ve talked with I see hope. THAT is what it’s all about.
Get busy. We always need people to volunteer their precious grains of time. Cool thing? It keeps us keepin’ on. For one more day. Giving it away. One dope fiend drunk helping another … in a myriad of ways. More precious than gold baby … priceless and not as heavy either. I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than that. Except maybe if the person receiving is a cute boy … but THAT is an entirely different blog. Perhaps meant for my other site. Anyhow … it works if you work it. So work it. Get busy. Service works.
hat tip to Scott for the blog idea … thanks you *mwah*
