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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.

Look Who's Talking

Just for Today - October 22

"Our disease is so cunning that it can get us into impossible situations."

Basic Text, p.80

God's Will Today

Just for Today - October 21

"This decision demands continued acceptance, ever - increasing faith, and a daily commitment to recovery."

IP No.14, "One Addict's Experience…"

Sometimes, we really live the Third Step - and it's great! We don't regret the past, we aren't afraid of the future, and we're generally pleased with the present. Sometimes, though, we lose our vision of God's will in our life.

Freedom to Choose

Just for Today - October 20

"Enforced morality lacks the power that comes to us when we choose to live a spiritual life."

Basic Text, p.44

In our active addiction, many of us lived our lives by default. We were unwilling or unable to make choices about how we wanted to act, what we preferred to do, or even where we would live. We allowed the drugs or other people to make our most basic decisions for us. Freedom from active addiction means, among other things, the freedom to make those choices for ourselves.

Standing for Something

Just for Today - October 19

"... we could feel time, touch reality, and recognize spiritual values long lost to many of us."

Basic Text, p.85

We All Belong

Just for Today - October 18

"Although 'politics makes strange bedfellows,' as the old saying goes, addiction makes us one of a kind."

Basic Text, p.84

What a mixture of folks we have in Narcotics Anonymous! In any given meeting on any given night, we'll find a variety of people that probably never would have sat down in a room together if it weren't for the disease of addiction.

"The Truth"

Just for Today - October 17

"Everything we know is subject to revision, especially what we know about the truth."

Basic Text, p.91

The Simplest Prayer

Just for Today - October 16

"…praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

Step Eleven

How do we pray? With little experience, many of us don't even know how to begin. The process, however, is neither difficult nor complicated.

Choices

Just for Today - October 15

"We did not choose to become addicts."

Basic Text p. 3

When we were growing up, all of us had dreams. Every child has heard a relative or neighbor ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Even if some of us didn't have elaborate dreams of success, most of us dreamed of work, families, and a future of dignity and respect. But no one asked, "Do you want to be a drug addict when you grow up?"

The End of Loneliness

Just for Today - October 14

"With the love that I am shown in Narcotics Anonymous, I have no excuse for loneliness."

Basic Text p. 262

Addiction is a lonely disease. We may be surrounded by people but, sooner or later, our addiction drives a wedge between us and even our closest loved ones. Many of us are driven to Narcotics Anonymous by a desperate loneliness.

Making a Difference

Just for Today - October 13

"Words cannot describe the sense of spiritual awareness that we receive when we have given something, no matter how small, to another person."

Basic Text p. 100

Being Right

Just for Today - October 12

"When we admit that our lives have become unmanageable, we don't have to argue our point of view... We no longer have to be right all the time."

Basic Text p. 56

Eyeglasses and Attitudes

Just for Today - October 11

"Our best thinking got us into trouble.... Recovery is an active change in our ideas and attitudes."

Basic Text p.53

In active addiction, the world probably looked like a horrible place. Using helped us tolerate the world we saw. Today, however, we understand that the world's condition wasn't really the problem. It was our ideas and attitudes about the world that made it impossible for us to find a comfortable place in it.

Consequences

Just for Today - October 10

"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

Ever been tempted to do something even when you knew the results would be disastrous? Ever thought about how much it was going to hurt to do what you were tempted to do, then proceed to do it anyway?

Order

Just for Today - October 9

"We emphasize setting our house in order because it brings us relief."

Basic Text p. 93

Focusing on what others are doing can provide momentary relief from having to take a look at ourselves. But one of the secrets of success in Narcotics Anonymous is making sure our own house is in order. So what does "setting our house in order" mean, anyway?

A New Pattern Of Living

Just for Today - October 8

"We suspect that if we do not use what we have, we will lose what we have."

Basic Text p. 75

Addiction gave a pattern to our lives, and with it a meaning - a dark, diseased meaning, to be sure, but a meaning nonetheless. The Narcotics Anonymous recovery program gives us a new pattern of living to replace our old routines. And with that new pattern comes a new meaning to our lives, one of light and hope.

Depending On Our Higher Power

Just for Today - October 7

"As recovering addicts, we find that we are still dependent, but our dependence has shifted from the things around us to a loving God and the inner strength we get in our relationship with Him."

Basic Text pp.67-68

Amends Without Expectations

Just for Today - October 6

"Projections about actually making amends can be a major obstacle both in making the list and in becoming willing."

Basic Text p.38

The Eighth Step asks us to become willing to make amends to all persons we have harmed. As we approach this step, we may wonder what the outcome of our amends will be. Will we be forgiven? Relieved of any lingering guilt? Or will we be tarred and feathered by the persons we've harmed?

Ask For Mercy, Not Justice

Just for Today - October 5

"Many of us have difficulty admitting that we caused harm for others... We cut away our justifications and our ideas of being a victim."

Basic Text p.37

Our lives are progressing nicely. Things are going good, and each year in recovery brings more material and spiritual gifts. We may have a little money in the bank, a new car, or a committed relationship. We have a little self-confidence, and our faith in a Higher Power is growing.

Thirty-Day Wonder

Just for Today - October 4

"When we first begin to enjoy relief from our addiction, we run the risk of assuming control of our lives again. We forget the agony and pain that we have known."

Basic Text p.48

Losing Self-Will

Just for Today - October 3

"Our egos, once so large and dominant, now take a back seat because we are in harmony with a loving God. We find that we lead richer, happier, and much fuller lives when we lose self-will."

Basic Text p.101

Keeping Faith

Just for Today - October 2

"We grasp the limitless strength provided for us through our daily prayer and surrender as long as we keep faith and renew it."

Basic Text p.44

There are two parts to recovery: getting clean, and staying clean. Getting clean is comparatively easy because we only have to do it once. Staying clean is more difficult, requiring attention every day of our lives. Yet both draw their power from faith.

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