August 15th: Over Time, Not Overnight

August 15th: Over Time, Not Overnight

"We found that we do not recover physically, mentally, or spiritually overnight."

Basic Text, pg. 27

Have you ever approached a recovery celebration with the feeling that you should be further along in your recovery than you are? Maybe you have listened to newcomers sharing in meetings, members with much less clean time, and thought, "But I'm just barely beginning to understand what they're talking about!"

It's odd that we should come into recovery thinking that we will feel wonderful right away or no longer have any difficulty handling life's twists and turns. We expect our physical problems to correct themselves, our thinking to become rational, and a fully developed spiritual life to manifest itself overnight. 

We forget that we spent years abusing our bodies, numbing our minds, and suppressing our awareness of a Higher Power. We cannot undo the damage in a day. We can, however, apply the next step, go to the next meeting, help the next newcomer. We heal and recover bit by bit-not overnight, but over time.

Just for today: My body will heal a little, my mind will become a little clearer, and my relationship with my Higher Power will strengthen.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

August 14th: Letting Go Of Our Limitations

August 14th: Letting Go Of Our Limitations

"We don't have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas."

Basic Text, pg. 11

Most of us come to the program with a multitude of self-imposed limitations that prevent us from realizing our full potential, limitations that impede our attempts to find the values that lie at the core of our being. We place limitations on our ability to be true to ourselves, limitations on our ability to function at work, limitations on the risks we're willing to take...the list seems endless.

If our parents or teachers told us we would never succeed, and we believed them, chances are we didn't achieve much. If our socialization taught us not to stand up for ourselves, we didn't, even if everything inside us was screaming to do so.

In Narcotics Anonymous, we are given a process by which we can recognize these false limitations for what they are. Through our Fourth Step, we'll discover that we don't want to keep all the rules we've been taught. We don't have to be the life-long victims of past experiences.

We are free to discard the ideas that inhibit our growth. We are capable of stretching our boundaries to encompass new ideas and new experiences. We are free to laugh, to cry, and, above all, to enjoy our recovery.

Just for today: I will let go of my self-imposed limitations and open my mind to new ideas.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

August 13th: Difficult People

August 13th: Difficult People

“By giving unconditional love...we become more loving, and by sharing spiritual growth we become more spiritual."

Basic Text, pg. 99

Most of us have one or two exceptionally difficult people in our lives.

How do we deal with such a person in our recovery? First, we take our own inventory. Have we wronged this person? Has some action or attitude of ours served as an invitation for the kind of treatment they have given us? If so, we will want to clear the air, admit we have been wrong, and ask our Higher Power to remove whatever defects may prevent us from being helpful and constructive.

Next, as people seeking to live spiritually oriented lives, we approach the problem from the other person's point of view. They may be faced with any number of challenges we either fail to consider or know nothing about, challenges that cause them to be unpleasant. As it's said, we seek in recovery "to forgive rather than be forgiven; to understand rather than be understood."

Finally, if it is within our power, we seek ways to help others overcome their challenges without injuring their dignity. We pray for their well-being and spiritual growth and for the ability to offer them the unconditional love that has meant so much to us in our recovery.

We cannot change the difficult people in our lives, nor can we please everyone. But by applying the spiritual principles we've learned in NA, we can learn to love them.

Just for today: Higher Power, help me serve other people, not demand that they serve me.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

February 2nd: Goodwill

February 2nd: Goodwill

“Goodwill is best exemlified in service; proper service is doing the right thing for the right reason.”

Basic Text pg. ix

The spiritual core of our disease is self-centeredness. In dealing with others, the only motive our addiction taught us was selfishness - we wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. Obsession with self was rooted in the very ground of our lives. In recovery, how do we root self-obsession out?

We reverse the effects of our disease by applying a few very simple spiritual principles. To counteract the self-centeredness of our addiction, we learn to apply the principle of goodwill. Rather than seeking to serve only ourselves, we begin serving others. Rather than thinking only about what we can get out of a situation, we learn to think first of the welfare of others. When faced with a moral choice, we learn to stop, recall spiritual principles, and act appropriately

As we begin "doing the right thing for the right reason;" we can detect a change in ourselves. Where once we were ruled by self-will, now we are guided by our goodwill for others. The chronic self-centeredness of addiction is losing its hold on us. We are learning to "practice these principles in all our affairs"; we are living in our recovery, not in our disease.

Just for Today: Wherever I am, whatever I do, I will seek to serve others, not just myself. When faced with a dilemma, I will try to do the right thing for the right reason.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

February 1st: Hardships

February 1st: Hardships

“We felt different...
Only after surrender are we able to overcome the alienation of addiction.”

Basic Text pg. 22

"But you don't understand!" we spluttered, trying to cover up. "I'm different! I've really got it rough!" We used these lines over and over in our active addiction, either trying to escape the consequences of our actions or avoid following the rules that applied to everyone else. We may have cried them at our first meeting. Perhaps we've even caught ourselves whining them recently.

So many of us feel different or unique. As addicts, we can use almost anything to alienate ourselves. But there's no excuse for missing out on recovery, nothing that can make us ineligible for the program- not a life-threatening illness, not poverty, not anything. There are thousands of addicts who have found recovery despite the real hardships they've faced. Through working the program, their spiritual awareness has grown, in spite of-or perhaps in response to those hardships.

Our individual circumstances and differences are irrelevant when it comes to recovery. By letting go of our uniqueness and surrendering to this simple way of life, we're bound to find that we feel a part of something. And feeling a part of something gives us the strength to walk through life, hardships and all.

Just for today: I will let go of my uniqueness and embrace the principles of recovery I have in common with so many others. My hardships do not exclude me from recovery; rather, they draw me into it.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 31st: Trust

January 3st: Trust

“Just for today,
 I will have faith in someone in NA who believes in me and wants to help me in my recovery.”

Basic Text pg. 93

Learning to trust is a risky proposition. Our past experience as using addicts has taught us that our companions could not be trusted. Most of all, we couldn't trust ourselves.

Now that we're in recovery, trust is essential. We need something to hang onto, believe in, and give us hope in our recovery. For some of us, the first thing we can trust is the words of other members sharing in meetings; we feel the truth in their words.

Finding someone we can trust makes it easier to ask for help. And as we grow to trust in their recovery, we learn to trust our own.

Just for today: I will decide to trust someone. I will act on that trust.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 30th: GIving it Away

January 30th: Giving it Away

“We must give freely and gratefully that which has been freely and gratefully given to us.”

Basic Text pg. 49

In recovery, we receive many gifts. Perhaps one of the greatest of these gifts is the spiritual awakening that begins when we stop using, growing stronger each day we apply the steps in our lives. The new spark of life within is a direct result of our new relationship with a Higher Power, a relationship initiated and developed by living the Twelve Steps. Slowly, as we pursue our program, the radiance of recovery dispels the darkness of our disease.

One of the ways we express our gratitude for the gifts of recovery is to help others find what we've found. We can do this in any number of ways: by sharing in meetings, making Twelfth Step calls, accepting a commitment to sponsorship, or volunteering for H&I or phoneline duty. The spiritual life given to us in recovery asks for expression, for "we can only keep what we have by giving it away."

Just for today: The gift of recovery grows when I share it.

 I will find someone with whom to share it.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 29th: An Action Step

January 29th: An Action Step

“Do we understand that we have no real control over drugs?”

Basic Text pg. 18

At first, many of us may have thought the First Step required no action-we just surrender and go on to Step Two. But Step One does require action!

The action we take in the First Step will be evident in the way we live, even from our first day clean. If we truly believe that we are powerless over our addiction, we will not choose to be around drugs. To continue to live with or associate with practicing addicts may indicate a reservation in our program. An absolute belief that the First Step applies to us will insure that we clear our homes of all drugs and paraphernalia.

As time goes on, we'll not only continue with the basics but add new actions to our First Step repertoire. We'll learn to feel our feelings rather than trying to control them, We'll stop trying to be our own and only guides on our recovery journey; self-sponsorship will cease. We'll begin looking to a Power grater than ourselves more and more for spiritual satisfaction rather than trying to fill that void with something else.

Surrender is only the beginning. Once we surrender, we need to learn how to live in the peace we have found.

Just for today: I will take all the action necessary to practice the First Step.
I truly believe it applies to me. 

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 28th: An Everyday Addict

January 28th: An Everyday Addict

“We can never fully recover, no matter how long we stay clean.”

Basic Text pg. 80

After getting a little time in the program, some of us begin to think we have been cured. We've learned everything NA has to teach us: we've grown bored with the meetings; and our sponsor keeps droning the same old refrain: "The steps-the-steps-the-steps!" We decide it is time to get on with our lives, cut way back on meetings, and try to make up for the years we have lost to active addiction. We do this, however, at the peril of our recovery.

Those of us who have relapsed after such an episode often try to go to as many meetings as we can-some of us go to a meeting every day for several years. It may take that long for us to understand that we will always be addicts. We may feel well some days and sick on the other days, but we are addicts every day. At any time, we are the subject to delusion, denial, rationalization, justification, insanity-all the hallmarks of the typical addicts way of thinking. If we want to continue living and enjoying life without the use of drugs, we must practice an active program of recovery each day.

Just for today: I am an addict every day, but today I have the choice to be a recovering addict. I will make that choice by practicing my program. 

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 27th: Learning how to Live Again

January 27th: Learning how to Live Again

“We learn new ways to live.  We are no longer limited to our old ideas.”

Basic Text pg. 56

We may or may not have been taught right from wrong and other basics of life as children. No matter, by the time we found recovery, most of us had only the vaguest idea of how to live. Our isolation from the rest of society had caused us to ignore basic human responsibilities and develop bizarre survival skills to cope with the world we lived in. 

Some of us didn’t know how to tell the truth; others were so frank we wounded everyone we talked to. Some of us couldn’t cope with the simplest of personal problems, while others attempted solving the problems of the whole world. Some of us never got angry, even when receiving unfair treatment; others busily lodged complaints against everyone and everything.

Whatever our problems, no matter how extreme, we all have a chance in Narcotics Anonymous to learn how to live anew.  Perhaps we need to learn kindness and how to care about others. Perhaps we need to accept personal responsibilities. Or maybe we need to overcome fear and take some risks.  We can be certain of one thing: Each day, simply by living life, we’ll learn something new.

The self-centeredness afflicting our spirit can be treated with a spiritual solution: the Twelve Steps.  

Just for today:  I know more about how to live than I did yesterday, but not as much as I’ll know tomorrow.  Today, I’ll learn something new.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 26th: Self-Centeredness

January 26th: Self-Centeredness

""The spiritual part of our disease is our total self-centeredness."

Basic Text pg. 20

What is self-centeredness? It is our belief that the world revolves around us. Our wishes, our demands are the only ones worth consideration. Our self-centered minds believe they are capable of getting everything they want if only they would be left to their own devices. Self-centeredness assumes total self-sufficiency. 

We say that self-centeredness is the spiritual part of our disease because the self-centered mind cannot conceive of anything greater or more important than itself. But there is a spiritual solution to our spiritual malady: the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous. The steps lead us away from self-centeredness and toward God-centeredness. 

We strip away our delusion of self-sufficiency by admitting our own powerlessness and seeking the aid of a Power greater than ourselves. We acknowledge the bankruptcy of our self-righteousness by admitting we've been wrong, making amends, and seeking knowledge of what's right from the God our understanding. And we deflate our overwhelming sense of self-importance by seeking to serve others, not only ourselves. 

The self-centeredness afflicting our spirit can be treated with a spiritual solution: the Twelve Steps.  

Just for today:  My guidance and my strength comes from a Higher Power, not from my own self. I will practice the Twelve Steps to become more God-centered and less self-centered.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 25th: An Added Gift

January 25th: An Added Gift

""We see it happening among us every day
this miraculous turnabout is evidence of a spiritual awakening."

Basic Text pg. 49

We watch them walk in to their first meeting defeated, their spirits broken. Their suffering is obvious, and their desire for help even more apparent. They collect a welcome chip and go back to their seats, shaken by the effort. 

We see them again, and they seem a little more comfortable. They've found a sponsor and are attending meetings every night. They still won't meet our glance, but they nod their heads in recognition as we share. We notice a spark of hope in their eyes, and they smile uncertainly when we encourage them to keep coming back. 

A few months later, they are standing straight. They've learned how to make eye contact. They're working the steps with their sponsor and are healing as a result. We listen to them sharing at meetings. We stack chairs with them afterward. 

A few years later, they are speaking at a convention workshop, They've got a wonderful, humorous personality. They smile when they see us, they hug us, and they tell us they could never have done it without us. And they understand when we say, "nor could we, without you." 

Just for today:  I will find joy in witnessing the recovery of another.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

January 24th: From Isolation to Connection

January 24th: From Isolation to Connection

"Our disease isolated us...
Hostile, resentful, self-centered, and self-seeking, we cut ourselves off from the outside world."

Basic Text pg. 3-4

Addiction is an isolating disease, closing us off from society, family, and self. We hid. We lied. We scorned the lives we saw others living, surely beyond our grasp. Worst of all, we told ourselves there was nothing wrong with us, even though we knew we were desperately ill. Our connection with the world, and with reality itself, was severed. Our lives lost meaning, and we withdrew further and further from reality.

The NA Program is designed especially for people like us. It helps reconnect us to the life we were meant to live, drawing us out of our isolation. We stop lying to ourselves about our condition; we admit our powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives. We develop faith that our lives can improve, that recovery is possible, and that happiness is not permanently beyond our grasp. We get honest; we stop hiding; we "show up and tell the truth"; no matter what. And as we do, we establish the ties that connect our individual lives to the larger life around us.

We addicts need not live lives of isolation. The Twelve Steps can restore our connection to life and living - if we work them.

Just for today: I am a part of the life around me. I will practice my program to strengthen my connection to my world.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

Check out some of my other Narcotics Anonymous related posts on the ProcrastiKNITor Blog:

My Soapbox Post: January 22nd, 2017

The Daily Inspirational Meme

The Serenity Prayer

The Just for Today Prayer

The Trust Prayer

The Literature Prayer

January 23rd: Serenity Check

January 23rd: Serenity Check

"Lack of daily maintenance can show up in many ways."

Basic Text pg. 91

Ever had a perfect stranger remark about how great the weather was, only to reply "It stinks"? When this happens, we are probably suffering from lack of daily maintenance in our program.

In recovery, life can get pretty hectic. Maybe those added responsibilities at work have got you hopping. Maybe you haven't been to a meeting for awhile. Perhaps you've been too busy to meditate, or haven't been eating regularly or sleeping well. Whatever the reason, your serenity is slipping.

When this happens, it is crucial that we take action. We can't afford to led one "bad day"; complete with a bad attitude, slip into two days, four days, or a week. Our recovery depends on our daily maintenance program. No matter what is happening in our lives, we can't afford to neglect the principles that have saved our lives.

There are many ways to recover our serenity. We can go to a meeting, phone our sponsor, meet another recovering addict for lunch, or try to carry the message to a newcomer. We can pray. We can take a moment to ask ourselves what simple things we haven't been doing.

When our attitudes head downhill, we can avert a crash with simple solutions.

Just for today: I will examine the maintenance of my daily program of recovery.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

Check out some of my other Narcotics Anonymous related posts on the ProcrastiKNITor Blog:

The Daily Inspirational Meme

The Serenity Prayer

The Just for Today Prayer

The Trust Prayer

The Literature Prayer

January 22nd: The School of Recovery

January 22nd: The School of Recovery

"This is a program of learning."

Basic Text pg. 16

Learning in recovery is hard work. The things we need to know are often the hardest to learn. We study recovery to prepare ourselves for the experiences life will give us. As we listen to others share in meetings, we take mental notes we can refer to later. To be prepared, we study our notes and literature between "lessons". Just as students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge during tests, so do we have the opportunity to apply our recovery during times of crisis. As always, we have a choice in how we will approach life's challenges.

We can dread and avoid them as threats to our serenity or we can gratefully accept them as opportunities for growth. By confirming the principles we've learned in recovery, life's challenges give us increased strength. Without such challenges, however, we could forget what we've learned  and begin to stagnate. These are the opportunities that prod us to new spiritual awakenings. 

We will find that there is often a period of rest after each crisis, giving us time to get accustomed to our new skills. Once we've reflected on our experience, we are called on to share our knowledge with someone who is studying what we have just learned. In the school of recovery, all of us are teachers as well as students.

Just for today: I will be a student of recovery. I will welcome challenges, confident in what I've learned and eager to share it with others.

Just for today: daily meditations for recovering addicts. (1992).
Van Nuys, CA: World Service Office.

Check out some of my other Narcotics Anonymous related posts on the ProcrastiKNITor Blog:

My Soapbox Post: January 22nd, 2017

The Daily Inspirational Meme

The Serenity Prayer

The Just for Today Prayer

The Trust Prayer

The Literature Prayer