Tradition Seven.

"Every group ought to be full self-supporting, declining outside contributions."

I help to make my group self-supporting not only with my financial contributions, but with my service before a meeting, helping to set up, and afterwards, putting literature away, and tidying up. I make my group self-supporting when I welcome newcomers.

One of the main ways I make my group self-supporting, a way I hadn't thought of with regard to this Tradition, until a visiting Al-Anon member spoke about it, is - showing up faithfully for meetings. Unless I am ill or out of town, I am at that meeting. Nothing else comes first. I go when I am tired, out-of-sorts, grouchy, self-pitying, resentful, and I go when I am glowing with delight for life, gleeful, and full of serenity. I go for my own recovery, and I go for the recovery of anyone else who attends.

We never know when God is going to use us a conduit, to say the very thing to light the way for another struggling member. I cannot count the number of times over the years, that I've had people come up to me and talk about how when I said this-and-such, it really helped them. Invariably, I have no memory of having said it - I was just sharing whatever was on my mind, when it came around to my turn.

It works the same way in reverse - often, when I talk to another Al-Anon member about the one comment they made which really resonated for me, they will look blank, and then start to laugh, saying well, they're glad it helped, but they don't recall saying it.

My own belief on this score, is that we don't recall it because it's not coming from us - it's coming from our Higher Power using us, to get a message across to someone who needs it.

That can't happen if we're not at the meeting.