Just for today

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.

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.

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.

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

Just for today - July 24

"... we covered low self-esteem by hiding behind phony images that we hoped would fool people. The masks have to go"

Basic Text, p.32

Just for today - July 22

"For us, to use is to die, often in more ways than one."

Basic Text, p.78

Just for today - July 20

"We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable."

Step One

Just for today - July 18

"Our disease always resurfaced or continued to progress until, in desperation, we sought help from each other in Narcotics Anonymous."Basic Text, p. 13

When we think of being desperate, we envision an undesirable state: a poor, bedraggled soul frantically clawing at something sorely needed, a desperate look in the eyes. We think of hunted animals, hungry children, and of ourselves before we found NA.

Just for today - July 16

"Deep inside, I had feelings of inadequacy and inferiority."

Basic Text, p. 112

Somewhere along the way, many of us developed strong feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Deep inside was a voice that continually cried out, "You're worthless!" Many of us learn to recognize this characteristic of low self-esteem very early in our recovery. Some of us may feel that our feelings of inferiority were where all our problems began.

Just for today - July 14

"Social acceptability does not equal recovery."

Basic Text, p.21

One of the first things that happens to many of us in recovery is that we start to look better. We get healthier; we bathe; we dress more appropriately. And without the goading of active addiction, many of us finally stop stealing, lying, and hustling. We start to look normal - just by removing the drugs.

Just for today - July 12

"We were trapped by our need for the instant gratification that drugs gave us." Basic Text, pp.24-25

Just for today - July 10

"That old nest of negativism followed me everywhere I went." Basic Text, p.135

A negative attitude is the trademark of active addiction. Everything that occurred in our lives was someone or something else's fault. We had blaming others for our shortcomings down to a fine science. In recovery, one of the first things we strive to develop is a new attitude. We find that life goes a lot easier when we replace our negative thinking with positive principles.

Just for today - July 8

"It is important for you to know that you will hear God mentioned at NA meetings. What we are referring to is a Power greater than ourselves that makes possible what seems impossible."

IP No.22, "Welcome to NA"

Just for today - July 5

"The nature of our belief will determine the manner of our prayers and meditation."

Basic Text, p.43

How do we pray? For each NA member, this is a deeply personal matter. Many of us find that, over time, we develop a manner of prayer and meditation based on what we learn from others and what we are comfortable with.