We're starting to look more closely at what makes a meeting feel safe and welcoming.
Living Clean, Chapter 4, “Disability”
We know first hand the struggles of addiction, the danger and the destitution. We remember what it was like walking into our first meeting – feeling that initial spark of hope. We pray for the addict who is still suffering, and we sympathize with him, because we have been there. Our empathy helps us see through the eyes of others in our gatherings, groups, and all the social interactions that surround them.
We sincerely want every recovering addict to feel safe and welcome when they walk through our doors. When we are at our highest spiritual level, empathy guides our choices and ensures that we are inclusive. However, it is easy to become lazy. We neglect to pay due attention to the needs of others. We may even justify our complacency and stifle new ideas with the classic: "That's the way we've always done it."
Experience has a way of chipping away at that complacency. When a member of the home team requires a wheelchair, the necessity of an accessible meeting space becomes apparent. When a hard of hearing member explains the importance of visual cues in communication, we follow his lead. We change the layout of the room with attention to lighting, acoustics and visual lines. When new members come from outside the mainstream culture, we do everything we can to welcome them. If diversity is personally troubling to us, perhaps we need to examine our reservations about the NA message. We recommit ourselves to the proposition that every addict can find recovery in NA. Empathy, generosity and inclusiveness lead us to a new understanding of how to help other addicts find a safe and welcoming place to surrender.
As the First Tradition suggests, we put our common welfare above all else. We design for needs that have not yet surfaced. We remove barriers to participation - physical, perceptual or cultural - and do everything we can to make NA truly accessible to all of us.
I will look at my team with fresh eyes and imagine how someone different from me might experience it. What can I do to make newcomers feel safer and more welcome?
