Just wanted some experience, strength and hope on this one. I went to a meeting last night that needs support and there were four new people there, and an inexperienced chair. This group has meetings every day and has to use chairs with 60 days and on.
Anywho, I needed a meeting and got there at a minute after, and someone was sharing already. She shared about warrants and war stories, and then the next person did, and the next, when it was my turn, I asked about the readings, and was told they decided not to read them. It is my belief, and I could just be a control freak, that the readings are a vital part of a meeting format, part of what makes an NA meeting an NA recovery meeting. Often, I hear nothing in a meeting about recovery except the readings. I know I can go anywhere and hear them, maybe not all of them, maybe some different ones, like clarity statements, but I will hear something to do with recovery. I expressed this to the group at this time, and they looked at me like I was nuts. I didn't yell, I did it spiritually, just let them know I didn't need to hear about warrants, I wanted to hear about recovery. My initial reaction is to not go there again ever, but they need support and evidently experience. Now, the question is, am I completely nuts? I am letting it go after this post, but NA saved my life, and I want it to be here for everyone else, and I feel like if a meeting foregoes the readings, it is not long till they read outside literature, and the whole thing devolves into a twisted, war story ridden meeting of addicts who are clean but without the spiritual benefits of the NA program.