<\/p>\n
It can be helpful to remember what made us feel welcome and what made us feel uncomfortable or alienated when we first came to our gatherings.<\/b><\/p>\n
Guiding Principles, Tradition One, \u201cFor Groups\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We often reaffirm that "the newcomer is the most important person in any gathering, because we can only keep what we have by giving it away." Reading the words is simple enough - putting them into practice can be a bit more difficult at times. One member wrote, "My compassion for others, especially newcomers, is a huge indicator of my progress in recovery." In our teams, this compassion shows in the actions we take to consider the needs of the newcomer. By keeping our attention focused on the still-suffering addict, we also keep our common well-being first. The questions implied in the quote above are a great place to start.<\/p>\n
When we talk about what it means to feel welcome, we're often pleasantly reminded that our team already does many of these things well. Many of these are embedded in the NA philosophy. One member shared memories of his time as a newcomer: \u201cBefore the meeting, someone approached me and welcomed me and I was a little wary of his friendliness. Soon someone else welcomed me, and so did other junkies entering the room. I saw a pattern here in how they were hugging people and felt like I was in the right place. I didn't feel like an unwanted person, like I felt most of my life!\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of us feel uncomfortable or alienated at first. Helping new members resist the urge to walk out the door and turn to using takes some prudence on the part of NA groups and members. While we cannot eliminate every possible excuse a newcomer might use to leave, we can examine our actions and the recovery atmosphere of our teams through the eyes of the newcomer. Some careful accounting helps us identify what made us feel welcome and how we might do the same for others.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The simplest gesture can have the greatest power. I will practice thoughtfulness to make sure the newcomer is always welcome.<\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-11856","spad","type-spad","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad\/11856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/spad"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}