How Kind Is It?

When i was fairly new in the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous, I started to feel pretty sure of myself. I was in for a rude awakening, as so many of us are when we are new. One night, I was talking with a friend after the meeting and she mentioned a mutual friend who was having problems. She informed me that he only went to one meeting a week and she felt that this was the source of the difficulty. Would I be willing to have a quiet chat with him about it? Of course, I would! I made straight for the poor, unsuspecting newcomer and promptly told him what I thought of his attendance schedule. He shocked me when he seemed to be hurt by my intrusion. I felt badly when I never saw him again in a meeting. The problem was that I was trying to compel him to do something, instead of trying to be of service.