Short form: At all responsible levels, we ought to maintain a traditional “Right of Participation,” allowing a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.
- The ability to participate in life flows from my sobriety, which is a gift from God.
- I am equal to others: neither superior nor inferior.
- In relation to others: I am a trusted servant, not an order-taker; I am a truster, not an order-giver.
- In relation to God:
- Others could have been sent but have not.
- Angels with no choice could have been sent, but a human with choice has been sent: me.
- God cannot act without me.
- God needs me.
- God relies on me.
- Participation requires fitness, and that is achieved through the Steps, which fit me to be of maximum service.
- Potential for participation outstrips capacity: choice must therefore be exercised.
- When capacity seems to outstrip potential (i.e. I am idle), I've either missed something or I need to fit myself for participation (page 77 of the Big Book).
- Blocks to my participation:
- A false sense of inadequacy.
- Fear of failure.
- Fear of exposure.
- Fear of uncertainty.
- Laziness.
- Solutions:
- Recognising God needs me.
- Detachment: my responsibility is the action; God's responsibility is the outcome.
- Trust: that others generally wish me well, and those that do not are in error.
- Flexibility: not knowing the outcome is OK.
- Effort: you have to take action to activate your faith: God ain't gonna slide no hot dog under your door.
- Successfully passing through, overcoming, or transcending difficulties reduces fear and increases faith.
- Act out of faith, which is the spirit of fearlessness (even when fear is still present).
- Faith is a practice available to anyone, accessed by prayer followed by resolute action.
- In AA: participation is a right, so participate: all members have an equal right to do so.
- If I can't lose, I can't play: to participate, I must risk material-plane 'failure'.
- To succeed in AA means to try: the material-plane endeavour may fail, but the endeavour-er thereby succeeds.
- The more ambitious the plan, the greater than risk of material-plane 'failure': steer a course between playing it safe and punching too far above your weight.
- Participation requires risk-taking: the alternative is withdrawal and death.
- When I withdraw, I am likely to project that outwards and believe I am being rejected.
- Life consists in participation: withdrawal perpetuates the illusion of separation.
- To participate fully, my other addictions and compulsions must be eliminated, as they are by nature secretive and require separation.
- In management roles, encourage others to participate maximally in line with their capability.
- Ditto in sponsorship: to do for a sponsee what the sponsee can do for himself or herself is to deny that individual the right of participation.
- In work: if out of work, pray for God's will, then take practical action to assess skills and experience and find a path that will utilise and develop those.
- In any area of life in which I am not participating fully, I proactively ask how I can be of service; I do not wait to be asked.
- With newcomers and strangers, I put my hand out first.
- God respects my freedom of choice to participate or not participate: I must respect others' freedom of choice to participate or not participate, without goading or chiding.
- Regarding others' right of participation:
- Let others make their own mistakes and learn from them.
- Do not view others' participation as diminishing my participation: participation is not 'zero-sum' but additive.
- Help others participate rather than doing their jobs for them or dictating how they do them.
- View others as equals instead of robots, slaves, children, wards, or bystanders.
- When periodically reviewing myself:
- Am I rising to challenges?
- Am I making the most of opportunities?
- Am I making the most of my potential?
- Am I acting fearlessly or fearfully (remembering that I can act fearlessly even when frightened)?
- The defects preventing me from practising Concept IV fully:
- Fear.
- Laziness.
- False sense of my own inadequacy.
- False sense of others' inadequacy.
- Rescuer-seeking / rescuing.
- Caretaker-seeking / caretaking.
- Subservience / domination.
- Avoiding my own responsibilities / assuming others responsibilities.
Inventory:
Looking at the above ideas:
Where am I currently falling down?
What can I do differently?