March 21
When Nobody Knows
An unnoticed service task can reveal how much we hoped it would be noticed. We arrive early, take care of something useful, and wait for the small acknowledgment that never comes. Then another member receives warm thanks for a different contribution. Our work has not changed, but its value suddenly seems reduced. A quiet act of service has become an argument about our standing in the room.
Wanting appreciation is human. We can admit the disappointment without making it a reason to withdraw what we offered. Humility and responsibility meet here in an ordinary way: the task needed doing, we were able to do it, and someone benefited. God need not provide an audience for the action to count. We may also learn to thank others more freely, having noticed how easily necessary work disappears into the background when nobody draws attention to it.
How does the absence of recognition change my willingness to be useful?
The useful thing remains done.
For the A.A. nerds: As Bill Sees It, No. 271, “A.A. in Two Words.”