November 1
Whose Work Gets Mentioned
Thanks are being offered for a successful event. The person at the microphone receives most of them, while the people who arranged rides, answered messages, and cleaned the room stand nearby. Perhaps we are the person being thanked. Perhaps we are one of those waiting to be noticed. Recognition is rarely distributed as carefully as the work was.
The wish to be appreciated is ordinary; we do not have to turn it into a spiritual offense. But when praise comes our way, we have a chance to make the account more accurate. Specific thanks can bring overlooked work into view without a ceremonial speech about our own unworthiness. Concept Nine speaks of giving credit where an idea originated. That same honesty can shape how we describe a shared effort. People may still miss some contributions, including ours. We can value appreciation while remembering that useful work involved more hands than anyone saw from the front.
Whose contribution is missing from the way I describe something that went well?
Several people helped make this possible.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept IX.