October 15
With New Information
Our representative returns with a decision different from the one we expected. We had talked it through carefully before they left. Now it feels as though our conversation counted for nothing. Before deciding that trust was broken, we might want to hear what happened in the room we did not attend. There may have been facts we never had.
A trusted servant carries our concerns into a larger conversation. If nothing heard there could change their judgment, much of that conversation would be wasted. Concept Three allows room for decisions informed by circumstances as they actually unfold. It also leaves us entitled to a meaningful account afterward. We can ask what changed and how our concerns were considered. Being represented does not always mean seeing our first preference prevail. It may mean having someone listen on our behalf more fully than we could from home.
What would I need to understand before calling a changed decision a betrayal?
I would like to hear how the decision was reached.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept III.