Part Of Sharing is Sharing Time

Today is christmas and this morning I attended a marathon meeting in my area.The speaker shared the time allowed by the group He picked a person with alot of clean time he shared that he keeps missing something he shared that for 20 minutes and then after he shared for 20 minutes he gets up and starts hugging people I say to myself man if he could just be quite and sit in a chair long enough he would not be missing a thing. So the meeting went on and the speaker picked another member who also shared for 20 minutes I got up and left which I shouldnt have done there are times my self-centerdness will tell me that I am the only person that matters even when Iam sitting in a meeting so I must apply the principle of humility to remind myself that I am not god I am not the only person in the room and that I must share with the responsibility of carrying a clear message of recovery and that I am not the only one in the room who is capable of doing that My Gratitude Speaks When I care and share with others the na way My ego speaks when I share with out considering other members who might also need to share a solution with a newcomer or oldtimer Thanks For Listening

[dotcom]

your so right megamax! i can relate!

[dotcom]

i think ill add to my post. the last meeting i went to, i sat at a table with some fellow recoverees i used to know. hadnt seen them in ages. and for the whole meeting, they were the only ones who shared! i started to think, what, do these people think they are the only ones at the meeting? its been 15 minutes for crying out loud! and its a full house! then i just said to myself, dotcom, your being very self-centered...maybe i can get something out of this after all? i tried, and i did get something out of it. but i forget that im not perfect! and neither is anyone else! lol

[dotcom]

once again megamax, i really needed to read your post! lol

[Trooth]

A part of the most wonderful books I have ever read (The 7 habits of highly effective people), is dedicated to communication. Listening to understand is hard to do. Effective communication is not brought about by making other people understand you. It is actually done when you understand other people. We do this the worse when we argue. How many times do we sit there while some one else talks, thinking of what we are going to say next. Thinking, if they would shut up and listen to me, we would not be arguing.

This is a very advanced habit, and has been one that I forget to practice far too often. When I do practice it, I find that I bond with the person I am conversing with. This applies to all areas of life, and all people. We all have problems with it, much of it stems from our own self importance, and our desire to be understood. Seek first to understand, then you can be understood. Effective communication is vital to any relationship.

That is part of the reason why I am fond of forums in general. Reading the written word allows you to concentrate on what the person is saying, you can reread and try to understand. Then you can reply. Recovering addicts, and non addicts alike can really use these skills.