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Letting Our Defects Go

Just for today - November 21

"If [character defects] contributed to our health and happiness, we would not have come to such a state of desperation."  Basic Text pg. 34

Getting started on the Sixth and Seventh Steps isn't always easy. We may feel as though we have so much wrong with us that we are totally defective. We might feel like hiding under a rock. Under no circumstance would we want our fellow addicts to know about our inadequacies.

Finding Fulfillment

Just for today - November 20

"We weren't oriented toward fulfillment; we focused on the emptiness and worthlessness of it all."  Basic Text p. 86

There were probably hundreds of times in our active addiction when we wished we could become someone else. We may have wished we could trade places with someone who owned a nice car or had a larger home, a better job, a more attractive mate - anything but what we had. So severe was our despair that we could hardly imagine anyone being in worse shape than ourselves.

The Language of Empathy

Just for today - November 19

"... the addict would find from the start as much identification as each needed to convince himself that he could stay clean, by the example of others who had recovered for many years."  Basic Text p. 85

Self-discovery

Just for today - November 18

"The Tenth Step can help us correct our living problems and prevent their recurrence."  Basic Text p. 41

Our identities, how we think and feel, have been shaped by our experiences. Some of our experiences have made us better people; others have caused us shame or embarrassment; all of them have influenced who we are today. We can take advantage of the knowledge gained in examining our mistakes, using this wisdom to guide the decisions we'll make today.

Walking Through the Pain

Just for today - November 17

"We never have to use again, no matter how we feel. All feelings will eventually pass."  Basic Text p. 79

It hurts like never before. You get out of bed after a sleepless night, talk to God, and still don't feel any better. "It will pass;" a little voice tells you. "When?" you wonder, as you pace and mutter and get on with your day.

You sob in your car and turn the radio all the way up so you can't hear your own thoughts. But you go straight to work, and don't even think about using drugs.

Alone No More

Just for today - November 16

"We gradually and carefully pull ourselves out of the isolation and loneliness of addiction and into the mainstream of life."  Basic Text p. 35

Letting Go

Just for today - November 15

"Take my will and my life. Guide me in my recovery. Show me how to live."  Basic Text p. 25

How do we begin the process of letting our Higher Power guide our lives? When we seek advice about situations that trouble us, we often find that our Higher Power works through others. When we accept that we don't have all the answers, we open ourselves to new and different options. A willingness to let go of our preconceived ideas and opinions opens the channel for spiritual guidance to light our way.

Not Just Surviving

Just for today - November 14

"When we were using, our lives became an exercise in survival. Now we are doing much more living than surviving."   Basic Text p. 50

Not Perfect

Just for today - November 13

"We are not going to be perfect. If we were perfect, we would not be human."  Basic Text p. 30

Our Own Story

Just for today - November 12

"When we honestly tell our own story, someone else may identify with us."  Basic Text p. 95

Many of us have heard truly captivating speakers at Narcotics Anonymous conventions. We remember the audience alternating between tears of identification and joyous hilarity. "Someday," we may think, "I'm going to be a main speaker at a convention, too."

From Surrender to Acceptance

Just for today - November 11

"We surrender quietly and let the God of our understanding take care of us."  Basic Text p. 26

Surrender and acceptance are like infatuation and love. Infatuation begins when we encounter someone special. Infatuation requires nothing but the acknowledgement of the object of our infatuation. For infatuation to become love, however, requires a great deal of effort. That initial connection must be slowly, patiently nurtured into a lasting, durable bond.

Fear or Faith?

Just for today - November 10

"No matter how far we ran, we always carried fear with us."  Basic Text p. 14

For many of us, fear was a constant factor in our lives before we came to Narcotics Anonymous. We used because we were afraid to feel emotional or physical pain. Our fear of people and situations gave us a convenient excuse to use drugs. A few of us were so afraid of everything that we were unable even to leave our homes without using first.

The best-laid plans

November 9 - Just for Today

"It is our actions that are important. We leave the results to our Higher Power."

Basic Text, p. 88

Freed From Insanity

Just for today - November 8

Do I believe it would be insane to walk up to someone and say, "May I please have a heart attack or a fatal accident."  Basic Text p.23

We've heard it said that unless we're in love, we can't remember what love feels like. The same could be said of insanity: Once we're freed of it, we may forget how truly bizarre our insane thinking can be. But to be grateful for the degree of sanity to which we've been restored in Narcotics Anonymous, we need to remember just how truly insane we've been.

Feeling God's Will

Just for today - November 7

"I sincerely believed that a Higher Power could restore my sanity and that I would stop trying to figure out what God's will was, just accept things for what they were, and be grateful."

Basic Text p. 198

Understanding Humility

Just for today - November 6

"Humility is a result of getting honest with ourselves."  Basic Text p. 35

Humility was an idea so foreign to most of us that we ignored it as long as we could. When we first saw the word "humbly" ahead in Step Seven, we may have figured it meant we had quite a bit of humiliation in store. Perhaps we chose to look it up in the dictionary, only to become even more confused by the definition. We didn't understand how "lowliness and subservience" applied to recovery.

God's Guidance

Just for today - November 5

"Our Higher power is accessible to us at all times. We receive guidance when we ask for knowledge of God's will for us."  Basic Text p. 92

It's not always easy to make the right decision. This is especially true for addicts learning to live by spiritual principles for the first time. In addiction, we developed self-destructive, anti-social impulses. When conflict arose, we took our cues from those negative impulses. Our disease didn't prepare us to make sound decisions.

Exchanging Love

Just for today - November 4

"...we give love because it was given so freely to us. New frontiers are open to us as we learn how to love. Love can be the flow of life energy from one person to another"   Basic Text pp. 100-101

Love given, and love received, is the essence of life itself. It is the universal common denominator, connecting us to those around us. Addiction deprived us of that connection, locking us within ourselves.

No Matter What

Just for today - November 3

"We eventually have to stand on our own feet and face life on its own terms, so why not from the start."

Basic Text p.85

Living With Unresolved Problems

Just for today - November 2

"It makes a difference to have friends who care if we hurt."

Basic Text p.54

For most of our problems, the solution is simple. We call our sponsor, pray, work the steps, or go to a meeting. But what about those situations where the burden is ongoing and there's no end in sight?

Awakening

Just for today - November 1

"God helps us as we help each other."

Basic Text p.51

Our addiction caused us to think almost exclusively of ourselves. Even our prayers - if we prayed at all - were self-centered. We asked God to fix things for us or get us out of trouble. Why? Because we didn't want to live with the problems we'd created for ourselves. We were insecure. We thought life was about getting, and we always wanted more.

Our Relationship with a Higher Power

Just for Today - October 31

"Ongoing recovery is dependent on our relationship with a loving God who cares for us and will do for us what we find impossible to do for ourselves."

Basic Text, p.96

Working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous gives us a fresh start in life and some guidance for living in the world. But the steps are more than a fresh start. When we do our best to work the steps, we develop a relationship with our personal Higher Power.

Courage

Just for Today - October 30

"Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the future."

Basic Text, p.93

Narcotics Anonymous is no place for the faint of heart! Facing life on life's terms without the use of drugs isn't always easy. Recovery requires more than hard work; it requires a liberal dose of courage.

Living in the Now

Just for Today - October 29

"Living just for today relieves the burden of the past and the fear of the future."

Basic Text, pp. 90-91

Thoughts of how bad it was - or could be - can consume our hopes for recovery. Fantasies of how wonderful it was - or could be - can divert us from taking action in the real world. That's why, in Narcotics Anonymous, we talk about living and recovering "just for today."

Attitudes

Just for Today - October 28

"We can also use the steps to improve our attitudes."

Basic Text, p.53

Ever have a day when everything seems to be working against you? Do you go through periods when you are so busy taking people's inventories you can barely stand yourself? What about when you find yourself snapping at your co-worker or loved one for no reason? When we find ourselves in this bleak frame of mind, we need to take action.

Living in The Present

Just for Today - October 27

"We want to look our past in the face, see it for what it really was, and release it so we can live today."

Basic Text, p.28

For many of us, the past is like a bad dream. Our lives aren't the same any more, but we still have fleeting, highly charged emotional memories of a really uncomfortable past. The guilt, fear, and anger that once dominated us may spill into our new life, complicating our efforts to change and grow.

The Path to Self-Acceptance

Just for Today - October 26

"The most effective means of achieving self-acceptance is through applying the Twelve Steps of recovery."

IP No.19, "Self-Acceptance"

Our addiction has been a source of shame to many of us. We have hidden ourselves from others, sure that if anyone got to know who we really were they would reject us. NA helps us learn self-acceptance.

Principles Before Personalities

Just for Today - October 25

"Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

Twelfth Tradition

Responsibility

Just for Today - October 24

"We are not responsible for our disease, only for our recovery. As we begin to apply what we have learned, our lives begin to change for the better."

Basic Text, p.88

The further we go in recovery, the less we avoid responsibility for ourselves and our actions. By applying the principles of the Narcotics Anonymous program, we are able to change our lives. Our existence takes on new meaning as we accept responsibility and the freedom of choice responsibility implies. We do not take recovery for granted.

Surrender

Just for Today - October 23

"By surrendering control, we gain a far greater power."

Basic Text, p.43

When we were using, we did everything we could to run things our way. We used every scheme imaginable to bring our world under control. When we got what we wanted, we felt powerful, invincible; when we didn't, we felt vulnerable, defeated. But that didn't stop us - it only led to more efforts to control and manipulate our lives into a manageable state.

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