March 29, 2011

The Power of a Meeting, and My Attitude

Ever gone to a meeting, only to discover you were in a “certain” kind of a mood?  Where you are certain everything is happening in such a way as to annoy you? 

First, there’s the person who keeps talking and talking and that the group allows to talk, way off the topic.  Can't they ever respect the clock and other people’s need to share?  Oh, and then there is the person who  vents too much about their problem family member.  You squirm in your seat.  Don’t they get that this is a program that focuses on solutions, not problems? Then, your Inner Critic notices a member coming in late—again. 

See any patterns?

I've been there too. But wait. Let's go back to our program’s fundamentals.  What am I looking for in my meeting? Will I find it by looking for flaws in everyone around me? 

Instead, let me remember why I am here.  It is for the purpose of finding piece of mind, and for healing my emotional wounds, not to create a caustic judgmental environment in my head.


As the author of March 27th's ODAT reminds us: “In every meeting there is some good to be gained, no matter what is said or done.” 


My attitude may be making everything much worse than it needs to be.  Let me refrain from looking  for flaws in others. If instead, I "look for the Good," I can learn from each person’s experience, strength and hope. I can also learn compassion, for a person's stuck-ness, too. 

“I have learned silence from the talkative; tolerance for the intolerant and kindness from the unkind.  I should not be ungrateful to these teachers.” Kahlil Gibran

(Inspired by March 27th's reading in ODAT)




3 comments:

  1. I arrive at meetings in "that" mood often. But, it's good that I'm at that meeting as somehow, it works it's way out of me.

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  2. Thanks for sharing with me that I am not alone, when I find out my Inner Critic is right there in the room, getting in the way of my peace of mind!

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  3. Yes, I have done all those things. And felt bad for doing so. I actually walked out of a meeting one time. I made amends to the group. After a while I have come to cherish those very people who use to annoy me.

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I welcome your thoughts. Keep me honest~