"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." Albert Einstein.
Shortly after finding a sponsor, I was given my first directive in sobriety, "Get a Commitment."
Sobriety Commitments come in all shapes and sizes and I had to choose just the right one for me. My first choice was the Coffee Commitment - You come in, brew up a batch of java, stand behind the counter, and serve it up. Everyone's always happy to see the "Coffee Guy!" Unfortunately, that position was filled. In fact, all the positions were filled except the "Greeter" and "Parking Lot Ambassador."
The position of Greeter held no appeal for me. The idea of standing at the front door and shaking hands with total strangers gave sufficient rise to the bile in the back of my throat. Let's be honest, I didn't join Recovery to meet people.
Parking Lot Ambassador, on the other hand, had an official ring to it. An Ambassador! Visions of official ambassador duties danced through my head. My first order of business - Organize a summit of fellow Parking Lot Ambassadors from neighboring Recovery groups in order to discuss the decline of modern societal motorization. Soon after, my fellow ambassadors would hoist me to their shoulders and unanimously promote me from ambassador to Parking Lot President! I imagined a world filled with peaceful parking lots, joy-filled motorists, and children dancing around the wheel-stops, singing my praises. I was to be the greatest Parking Lot King in the history of sobriety!
I soon discovered the realities of an ambassador's job duties - staring at the asphalt while ensuring vehicles parked in the handicapped spaces had handicapped stickers. Not so glamorous.
An unexpected consequence developed as I stood at the edge of that blacktop... I began to meet people. Turns out, the ambassador was the first person people saw when arriving and exiting their vehicles. They felt obligated to say "Hello" and I felt obligated to reciprocate. In my haste to avoid the Greeter position, I failed to recognize the Parking Lot Ambassador job would land me squarely in a pre-greeter role.
The more people I met, the more comfortable I felt within the group. I gradually grew to become "a part of" the body of recovery; a group of misfits and crazies who were to become my second family.
Commitments (aka "being of service") requires us to give of ourselves while expecting nothing in return. Sobriety calls upon us to step up and clean the hall, serve as group officers, participate in H&I, share our stories, accept commitments, and help others who struggle with addiction. We do all this with no anticipation of personal gain. We contribute to the betterment of the group, as a whole, without reciprocity. For the first time in our selfish existence we must set aside our own desires and cater to the needs of our fellow man.
In order to keep our sobriety, we must give it away. Only then may we understand the joy of honest fellowship.
Shortly after finding a sponsor, I was given my first directive in sobriety, "Get a Commitment."
Sobriety Commitments come in all shapes and sizes and I had to choose just the right one for me. My first choice was the Coffee Commitment - You come in, brew up a batch of java, stand behind the counter, and serve it up. Everyone's always happy to see the "Coffee Guy!" Unfortunately, that position was filled. In fact, all the positions were filled except the "Greeter" and "Parking Lot Ambassador."
The position of Greeter held no appeal for me. The idea of standing at the front door and shaking hands with total strangers gave sufficient rise to the bile in the back of my throat. Let's be honest, I didn't join Recovery to meet people.
Parking Lot Ambassador, on the other hand, had an official ring to it. An Ambassador! Visions of official ambassador duties danced through my head. My first order of business - Organize a summit of fellow Parking Lot Ambassadors from neighboring Recovery groups in order to discuss the decline of modern societal motorization. Soon after, my fellow ambassadors would hoist me to their shoulders and unanimously promote me from ambassador to Parking Lot President! I imagined a world filled with peaceful parking lots, joy-filled motorists, and children dancing around the wheel-stops, singing my praises. I was to be the greatest Parking Lot King in the history of sobriety!
I soon discovered the realities of an ambassador's job duties - staring at the asphalt while ensuring vehicles parked in the handicapped spaces had handicapped stickers. Not so glamorous.
An unexpected consequence developed as I stood at the edge of that blacktop... I began to meet people. Turns out, the ambassador was the first person people saw when arriving and exiting their vehicles. They felt obligated to say "Hello" and I felt obligated to reciprocate. In my haste to avoid the Greeter position, I failed to recognize the Parking Lot Ambassador job would land me squarely in a pre-greeter role.
The more people I met, the more comfortable I felt within the group. I gradually grew to become "a part of" the body of recovery; a group of misfits and crazies who were to become my second family.
Commitments (aka "being of service") requires us to give of ourselves while expecting nothing in return. Sobriety calls upon us to step up and clean the hall, serve as group officers, participate in H&I, share our stories, accept commitments, and help others who struggle with addiction. We do all this with no anticipation of personal gain. We contribute to the betterment of the group, as a whole, without reciprocity. For the first time in our selfish existence we must set aside our own desires and cater to the needs of our fellow man.
In order to keep our sobriety, we must give it away. Only then may we understand the joy of honest fellowship.
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