Four Tradition in action
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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Four Tradition in action
Our NA meeting has recently applied the Fourth Tradition to a situation that I wanted to share. The meeting is held in a church that has graciously allowed us use of a meeting place. We have been asked to respect the church by smoking 25 feet away from the entrance. In doing so, many members have taken themselves out toward a fence with is the requisite distance away but the effect has been that the smoke is now disturbing a homeowner whose windows are directly over the fence.
There is a solution, simply move the smokers 25 feet in a different direction, and we've tried to ensure that this happens. We make the announcement every meeting now but occasionally new people who have not heard the announcement yet, or older members who forget, find themselves in the wrong area again.
We took a group conscience last week and passed the basket a second time during the meeting. We took the proceeds and bought a card and a nice houseplant for the woman who has had to ask us too many times to move. The card said,
We would like to thank you for your patience with us. We have not always been as respectful as we could have been and are working on improving our behavior individually and as a group. We wanted to show you that you are very much in our thoughts, that your requests are being taken seriously, and that we are rededicating ourselves to ensuring that it doesn't happen again.
Her response?
"Wow....just wow.... I can't believe you all did that. Maybe I wasn't always as patient as I could have been too. What is it that you people do there?"
"We are a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean."
"Wow. Is it working?"
"Yes. I've been clean for twenty-one years - many of those who keep forgetting have much less but even one day off drugs is a miracle for an addict."
"How many people usually show up for your meetings?"
"Usually about twenty or so."
"Will you thank them for me...for the plant and the card."
"I sure will."
Then came next week... we formed a service position to set someone outside to insure that no one lit up in the wrong place. The meeting started and during how it works the woman walked in hesitantly. We stopped reading to invite her in and she presented us with two dozen cupcakes she had made specifically for us.
We had an opportunity to affect NA as a whole for good or for ill and I am so proud of this group for changing the direction of this relationship with this person.
There is a solution, simply move the smokers 25 feet in a different direction, and we've tried to ensure that this happens. We make the announcement every meeting now but occasionally new people who have not heard the announcement yet, or older members who forget, find themselves in the wrong area again.
We took a group conscience last week and passed the basket a second time during the meeting. We took the proceeds and bought a card and a nice houseplant for the woman who has had to ask us too many times to move. The card said,
We would like to thank you for your patience with us. We have not always been as respectful as we could have been and are working on improving our behavior individually and as a group. We wanted to show you that you are very much in our thoughts, that your requests are being taken seriously, and that we are rededicating ourselves to ensuring that it doesn't happen again.
Her response?
"Wow....just wow.... I can't believe you all did that. Maybe I wasn't always as patient as I could have been too. What is it that you people do there?"
"We are a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean."
"Wow. Is it working?"
"Yes. I've been clean for twenty-one years - many of those who keep forgetting have much less but even one day off drugs is a miracle for an addict."
"How many people usually show up for your meetings?"
"Usually about twenty or so."
"Will you thank them for me...for the plant and the card."
"I sure will."
Then came next week... we formed a service position to set someone outside to insure that no one lit up in the wrong place. The meeting started and during how it works the woman walked in hesitantly. We stopped reading to invite her in and she presented us with two dozen cupcakes she had made specifically for us.
We had an opportunity to affect NA as a whole for good or for ill and I am so proud of this group for changing the direction of this relationship with this person.
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