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Decision Making

Just for Today - August 23

"Before we got clean, most of our actions were guided by impulse. Today, we are not locked into this type of thinking." Basic Text p. 87

Life is a series of decisions, actions, and consequences. When we were using, our decisions were usually driven by our disease, resulting in self-destructive actions and dire consequences. We came to see decision making as a rigged game, one we should play as little as possible.

Contribution

Just for Today - August 22

"We recognize our spiritual growth when we are able to reach out and help others."

Basic Text p. 56

To make a difference in the world, to contribute something special, is perhaps the highest aspiration of the human heart, Each one of us, no matter what our personal makeup, has a unique quality to offer.

Friendships

Just for Today - August 21

"Our friendships become deep, and we experience the warmth and caring which results from addicts sharing recovery and a new life."

IP No.19, "Self-Acceptance"

Facing Death

Just for Today - August 20

"Often we have to face some type of crisis during our recovery, such as the death of a loved one..."

Basic Text, p. 98

Every life has a beginning and an end. However, when someone we love a great deal reaches the end of their life, we may have a very hard time accepting their sudden, final absence. Our grief may be so powerful that we fear it will completely overwhelm us - but it will not. Our sorrow may hurt more than anything we can remember, but it will pass.

First Things First

Just for Today - August 19

"We apply effort to our most obvious problems and let go of the rest. We do the job at hand and, as we progress, new opportunities for improvement present themselves."

Basic Text, p. 54

How Long Do I Have To Go?

Just for Today - August 18

"The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."Basic Text, p. 102

The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, we've used what we've learned in the meetings to continue in our recovery.

Tell the Truth

Just for Today - August 17

"A symptom of our disease is alienation, and honest sharing will free us to recover."

Basic Text, p. 80

Up Or Down

Just for Today - August 16

"This is our road to spiritual growth. We change every day.... This growth is not the result of wishing but of action and prayer."

Basic Text, p. 35-36

Over Time, Not Overnight

Just for Today - August 15

"We found that we do not recover physically, mentally, or spiritually overnight." Basic Text, p.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!"

Letting Go Of Our Limitations

Just for Today - August 14

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

Basic Text, p.11

Difficult People

Just for Today - August 13

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

Basic Text, p.99

Enough!

Just for Today - August 12

"Something inside cries out, 'Enough, enough, I've had enough; and then they are ready to take that first and often most difficult step toward dealing with their disease."

Basic Text, p.203

Active Listening

Just for Today - August 11

"Through active listening, we hear things that work for us." Basic Text, p.102

Most of us arrived in Narcotics Anonymous with a very poor ability to listen. But to take full advantage of "the therapeutic value of one addict helping another" we must learn to listen actively.

Regular Prayer and Meditation

Just for Today - August 10

"Most of us pray when we are hurting. We learn that if we pray regularly, we won't be hurting as often or as intensely."

Basic Text, p.44

The Power of Love

Just for Today - August 9

"We begin to see that God's love has been present all the time, just waiting for us to accept it."

Basic Text, p.46

Responsible Recovery

Just for Today - August 8

"We accept responsibility for our problems and see that we're equally responsible for our solutions." Basic Text, p.94

Some of us, well accustomed to leaving our personal responsibilities to others, may attempt the same behavior in recovery. We quickly find out it doesn't work.

The Gratitude List

Just for Today - August 7

"We focus on anything that isn't going our way and ignore all the beauty in our lives." Basic Text, p.77

The Joy Within

Just for Today - August 6

"Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."

Basic Text, p.103

Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our energy into recovering our material possessions, only to feel even more dissatisfied with our lives than before.

The Shape of Our Thoughts

Daily Reflections - August 5

"By shaping our thoughts with spiritual ideals, we are freed to become who we want to be."

Basic Text, p.101

Addiction shaped our thoughts in its own way. Whatever their shape may once have been, they became misshapen once our disease took full sway over our lives. Our obsession with drugs and self molded our moods, our actions, and the very shape of our lives.

When Is A Secret Not A Secret?

Daily Reflections - August 4

"Addicts tend to live secret lives.... It is a great relief to get rid of all our secrets and to share the burden of our past."

Basic Text, p.32

We've heard it said that "we're as sick as our secrets" What do we keep secret, and why?

We keep secret those things that cause us shame. We may hold onto such things because we don't want to surrender them. Yet if they're causing us shame, wouldn't we live more easily with ourselves if we were rid of them?

Trusting People

Just for today - August 3

"Many of us would have had nowhere else to go if we could not have trusted NA groups and members."Basic Text, p.81

Practicing Honesty

Daily Reflections - August 2

"When we feel trapped or pressured, it takes great spiritual and emotional strength to be honest."

Basic Text, p.81

Freedom from Guilt

Daily Reflections - August 1

"Our addiction enslaved us. We were prisoners of our own mind and were condemned by our own guilt."

Basic Text, p.7

Guilt is one of the most commonly encountered stumbling blocks in recovery. One of the more notorious forms of guilt is the self-loathing that results when we try to forgive ourselves but don't feel forgiven.

Freedom from Active Addiction

Just for today - July 31

"Narcotics Anonymous offers only one promise and that is freedom from active addiction, the solution that eluded us for so long."Basic Text, p.102

Regular Inventory

Just for today - July 30

"Continuing to take a personal inventory means that we form a habit of looking at ourselves, our actions, attitudes, and relationships on a regular basis." Basic Text, p.41

Taking a regular inventory is a key element in our new pattern of living. In our addiction, we examined ourselves as little as possible. We weren't happy with how we were living our lives, but we didn't feel that we could change the way we lived. Self- examination, we felt, would have been a painful exercise in futility.

Expectations

Just for today - July 29

"As we realize our need to be forgiven, we tend to be more forgiving."

Basic Text, p.38

Secrets and Intimacy

Just for today - July 28

"We feared that if we ever revealed ourselves as we were, we would surely be rejected."

Basic Text, p.31

Having relationships without barriers, ones in which we can be entirely open with our feelings, is something many of us desire. At the same time, the possibility of such intimacy causes us more fear than almost any other situation in life.

We Do Recover

Just for today - July 27

"After coming to NA, we found ourselves among a very special group of people who have suffered like us and found recovery. In their experiences, freely shared, we found hope for ourselves. If the program worked for them, it would work for us." Basic Text, p.10

Unconditional Surrender

Just for today - July 26

"Help for addicts begins only when we are able to admit complete defeat. This can be frightening, but it is the foundation on which we have built our lives." Basic Text, p.22

Twelfth Step "Failure"?

Just for today - July 25

"Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

Step Twelve

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