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Calling a Defect a Defect

Just for Today - December 8

“When we see how our defects exist in our lives and accept them, we can let go of them and get on with our new life.”

Basic Text, pp. 33-34

Sometimes our readiness to have our character defects removed depends on what we call them. If misnaming our defects makes them seem less “defective,” we may be unable to see the damage they cause. And if they seem to be causing no harm, why would we ever ask our Higher Power to remove them from our lives?

Surviving Our Emotions

Just for Today - December 7

“We use the tools available to us and develop the ability to survive our emotions.”

Basic Text, p. 30

“Survive my emotions?” some of us say. “You’ve got to be kidding!” When we were using, we never gave ourselves the chance to learn how to survive them. You don’t survive your feelings, we thought—you drug them. The problem was, that “cure” for our unsurvivable emotions was killing us. That’s when we came to Narcotics Anonymous, started working the Twelve Steps and, as a result, began to mature emotionally.

Romance and Recovery

Just for Today - December 6

“Relationships can be a terribly painful area.”

Basic Text, p. 78

Love is like an elixir for some of us. The excitement of a new lover, the intrigue of exploring intimacy, the sense of release we get from allowing ourselves to become vulnerable—these are all powerful emotions. But we can’t forget that we have only a daily reprieve from our addiction. Holding onto this daily reprieve must be the top priority in any recovering addict’s life.

Those Who Want To Recover

Just for Today - December 5

“We have seen the program work for any addict who honestly and sincerely wants to stop [using drugs].”

Basic Text, p. 10

How do we know when someone honestly and sincerely wants to stop using drugs? The truth is that we don’t know! Because we cannot read minds or know another’s motives and desires, we simply have to hope for the best.

God's Will, Not Ours

Just for Today - December 4

"We know that if we pray for God's will we will receive what is best for us, regardless of what we think."

Basic Text pg. 44

Vision Without Limits

Just for Today - December 3

"Perhaps for the first time, we see a vision of our new life."

Basic Text pg. 34

In our addiction, our vision of ourselves was very limited. Each day, we went through the same routine: getting, using, and finding ways and means to get more. And that's all we could reasonably expect for the duration of our lives. Our potential was limited.

Recovery: Our First Priority

Just for Today - December 2

"We have to keep our recovery first and our priorities in order."  Basic Text pg. 79

Before coming to NA, we used many excuses to justify our use of drugs: "He yelled at me" "She said this." "My partner left." "I got fired." We used these same excuses for not seeking help for our drug problem. We had to realize that these things kept happening because we kept using drugs. Only when we made recovery our first priority did these situations begin to change.

Life's Rewards

Just for Today - December 1

"We begin to pray only for God's will for us. That way, we get only what we are capable of handling."  Basic Text pg. 47

Imagine what might happen if God gave us everything we wanted. A fabulous new car, straight A's, a triple salary raise - all ours without effort, just for the asking.

Sharing the Real Me

Just for today - November 30

"Sharing with others keeps us from feeling isolated and alone."   Basic Text pg. 81

Our Higher Power's Care

Just for today - November 29

"We believe that our Higher Power will take care of us."   Basic Text pg. 55

Our program is based on the idea that the application of simple principles can produce profound effects in our lives. One such principle is that, if we ask, our Higher Power will care for us. Because this principle is so basic, we may tend to ignore it. Unless we learn to consciously apply this spiritual truth, we may miss out on something as essential to our recovery as breathing is to life itself.

Being Ourselves

Just for today - November 28

"To be truly humble is to accept and honestly try to be ourselves."

Basic Text pg. 35

Humility is a puzzling concept. We know a lot about humiliation, but humility is a new idea. It sounds suspiciously like groveling, bowing, and scraping. But that's not what humility is at all. True humility is, simply, acceptance of who we are.

Seeking God's Help

Just for today - November 27

"At times during our recovery, the decision to ask for God's help is our greatest source of strength and courage."   Basic Text pg. 26

When we take the Third Step, we decide to allow a loving Higher Power to guide us and care for us in our daily lives. We make the decision to allow this guidance and care into our lives. Some of us believe that, once we've made the Third Step decision, God leads us; from that point on, it's just a matter of paying attention to where we are led.

Responsibility

Just for today - November 26

"A lot happens in one day, both negative and positive. If we do not take the time to appreciate both, perhaps we will miss something that will help us grow."

IP No. 8, "Just For Today"

Meditation

Just for today - November 25

"Quieting the mind through meditation brings and inner peace that brings us into contact with the God within us."  Basic Text pg.45

Gratefully Recovering

Just for today - November 24

"We entertained the thought that staying clean was not paying off and the old thinking stirred up self-pity, resentment, and anger."   Basic Text pg. 98

God's Will

Just for today - November 23

"The relief of 'letting go and letting God' helps us develop a life that is worth living."   Basic Text pg. 26

Foundation First

Just for today - November 22

"As we begin to function in society, our creative freedom helps us sort our priorities and do the basic things first."  Basic Text pg. 83

Powerlessness, Personal Responsibility

"Through our inability to accept personal responsibilities, we were actually creating our own problems."
Basic Text, p. 13

God's Gift

Just for Today - March 23

"We do the footwork and accept what's being given to us freely on a daily basis."
Basic Text pg. 46

From Rude Awakening To Spiritual Awakening

Just for Today - March 5
"When a need arises for us to admit our powerlessness, we may first look for ways to exert power against it. After exhausting these ways, we begin sharing with others and find hope." Basic Text, p. 79

Keep Coming Back

May 31

"We don't have to be clean when we get here but, after the first meeting, we suggest that newcomers keep coming back and come back clean. We don't have to wait for an overdose or a jail sentence to get help from Narcotics."

Basic Text, p. 10

Very few of us arrive in NA brimming with willingness. Some of us are here because we are court-ordered to attend. Some have come to save our families. Some come in an effort to salvage a career teetering on the brink of ruin. It doesn't matter why we are here. It only matters that we are.

The Process

Just for Today - March 4

"This program has become a part of me.... I understand more clearly the things that are happening in my life today I no longer fight the process."
Basic Text, p. 162

That One Special Person

Just for Today - March 13

"A sponsor is not necessarily a friend, but may be someone in whom we confide. We can share things with our sponsor that we might not be comfortable sharing in a meeting."
IP No. 11, "Sponsorship, Revised"

Sick As Our Secrets

Just for Today - February 25

"It would be tragic to write [out an inventory only to] shove it in a drawer These defects grow in the dark and die in the light of exposure."
Basic Text, p. 31

An Awakening of the Spirit

Just for Today - February 15

"The last thing we expected was an awakening of the spirit"

Basic Text, p. 48

Few of us came to our first Narcotics Anonymous meeting aching to take a personal inventory or believing that a spiritual void existed in our souls. We had no inkling that we were about to embark on a journey which would awaken our sleeping spirits.

Feeling a "Part Of"

Just for Today - March 15

"The get-togethers after our meetings are good opportunities to share things that we didn't get to discuss during the meeting."
Basic Text p. 29

Fun!

Just for Today - February 10

"In recovery our ideas of fun change"

Basic Text, p. 102

In retrospect, many of us realize that when we used, our ideas of fun were rather bizarre. Some of us would get dressed up and head for the local club. We would dance, drink and do other drugs until the sun rose. On more than one occasion, gun battles broke out. What we then called fun, we now call insanity.

Our Own True Will

Just for Today - March 29

"God's will for us consists of the very things we most value. God's will... becomes our own true will for ourselves."
Basic Text p. 46

The Recovery Partnership

"As long as I take it easy and make a commitment with my Higher Power to do the best I can, I know I will be taken care of today" Basic Text, p. 120

A New Vision

"Do we really want to be rid of our resentments, our anger, our fear?"
Basic Text p. 33

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