A Spiritual Principle A Day / Daily Meditation

Motivation
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3 SEPTEMBER

Free to Be Authentically Me

We can be ourselves in the present moment without fear or apology, without the need for approval or justification.

—Living Clean, Chapter 7, “Awakenings”

As we lived through active addiction, few of us felt free to be fully ourselves. We often needed to pretend to be someone we weren’t to get what we wanted or needed, and it didn’t take long before we were confused about who we really were—if we ever had any idea in the first place. We were so accustomed to wearing masks that we didn’t know what our own faces looked like anymore.

The atmosphere of acceptance and welcome we found in NA was a breath of fresh air for those of us who couldn’t breathe freely for a long, long time. The Basic Text tells us, “The masks have to go,” and we notice that when the metaphorical masks come off, it’s so much easier to breathe. For some of us, NA might be the very first place we have been where we suspected that we might be able to show our true selves to others. We may not feel that way in every meeting or with everyone we know in NA, but little by little, we become much more comfortable showing who we really are.

The freedom to be ourselves flows directly out of the sense of security we develop by being welcomed and accepted in NA. Admitting that we are addicts was the first of many admissions; each time we show a bit more of who we truly are to our fellow members, we increase our sense of security and become free to learn even more about ourselves. We accept who we are and lose the need for approval from others. We no longer feel the need to justify our existence. The insecurity that defined so much of who we were in active addiction fades away, and we become who we were meant to be all along.

I will take off my mask and breathe more easily, knowing that others in NA will accept me for who I am.

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4 SEPTEMBER

Choosing Freedom

We are free to change our minds, to change our perspective, and to change our lives. Freedom means that we are no longer living by default.

—Living Clean, Chapter 3, “Awakening to Our Spirituality”

In active addiction, we lived in a kind of default mode. We neglected responsibilities and disregarded the consequences of our actions or inaction. We were utterly vulnerable to our defects. We self‐destructed and harmed others. A member offered this metaphor: “I was on an amusement park ride that started off fun . . . until it made me sick. But by then, I couldn’t get off of it.”

Although living by default made us miserable, even the slightest suggestion that we could change would elicit a defensive “That’s just how I am!” Trapped is how we were! Trapped by our resistance to getting off the “ride” we were on. Fearing and avoiding change, still today, we’re sometimes trapped by our willful denial and rigidity.

Outside ourselves, change is inevitable. Recovery helps us deal with this fact. Within ourselves, change is a net positive. It’s a dynamic force exercised through the freedom of choice we now have. “Freedom isn’t just a state of being,” the member continued. “We practice it by choosing to change. We’re no longer trapped on a nauseating ride. We leave the active addiction amusement park behind. Life in recovery is a whole different park!”

As we realize our true selves, we achieve some freedom in NA. Maybe it’s less that we change and more that we become who we truly are. We grow less attached to our story; we can write a new one. We can reexamine aspects of ourselves we never thought to question—our religion, political leanings, musical tastes, even the food we eat. We get to be curious. We’re free to not be so cool.

Being clean allows us to challenge our belief systems and behavior patterns, to be and to feel a little less trapped. We don’t act on impulse as often; a breath provides a moment to respond with love, not fear. At our best, we are flexible, evolving, able to be influenced by others. There’s freedom in open‐mindedness. We learn how to say no and to say yes.

Though there will be times when we fall back to default mode, we don’t have to linger there. We have a new life to live.

I will live this day consciously and with purpose. In choosing to change, I’m choosing to be myself. I’m choosing freedom.

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5 SEPTEMBER

Cooperation Despite Friction

Time and time again, in crises we have set aside our differences and worked for the common good.

—Basic Text, Chapter 6, “Tradition One”

Cooperation is fundamental to what we do in NA, starting from the moment when the message is first carried to us. “I didn’t get clean because of my own Step One,” an addict shared. “I got clean because of someone else’s Step Twelve.” Whether we first heard the message from one member, a group, or a piece of literature, carrying the message to a using addict requires cooperation. We are clean because other members cooperated with each other—and we cooperated by listening and believing that recovery was possible for us, too.

Our cooperation in NA continues well beyond that first moment of willingness to listen and receive a message of hope. As we stay clean and get to know our fellow members better, we cooperate with each other and keep the doors open for the addicts yet to come. We’re sure to see or experience friction at some point, but addicts in recovery can be surprising in our ability to come together when it really matters.

“I got clean in a small town, and there were only two addicts at my first meeting,” a member wrote. “They carried a message to me that night. I thought they were best friends. Later, I learned that they couldn’t stand each other. I never would have known it from my first night clean.”

Some differences are more extensive than just a personality clash. “Our city was divided along racial/ethnic lines,” a group wrote. “We had two areas with big overlaps, and they didn’t get along. Some members finally had enough and created an annual unity event bringing both areas together. It was sort of controversial at first, but every year it gets bigger and better. Since it started, our areas have started collaborating on H&I and public relations service, too.”

Placing principles before personalities means cooperating whether or not I get along with someone. I will do my best to set aside differences for NA unity.

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6 SEPTEMBER

Anonymity and Selfless Service

The fact that we are anonymous means that the work we do in NA really can be selfless service. We don’t want or need credit for helping others; it’s what we do to save our own lives.

—Living Clean, Chapter 6, “Anonymity”

The first thought some of us have when given the chance to help someone is What’s in it for me? We stay clean, work Steps, experience freedom—and still, our diseased thinking whispers that we ought to be rewarded for our selflessness.

“I volunteered in the merchandise room at our convention right after celebrating ten years clean,” a member shared. “I folded T‐shirts and unboxed coffee mugs for hours, wondering all along what kind of goodie I’d get for doing my part. A mug? A shirt? At the end of my shift, they said, ‘Thanks for your service!’ and gave me a hug. In a matter of moments, I went from being disappointed in them to being disappointed in myself!”

The good we do for others is not limited to our service in NA. Another member wrote, “My sponsor told me to do something for someone else and keep it a secret. On my way to a meeting, I saw someone asking for change, and I bought them a sandwich. The first thing I did when I shared at the meeting was congratulate myself for being so generous.”

Perfect selflessness may be out of reach, but we can always strive to be less self‐centered. We don’t have to disappear completely; we simply step out of the spotlight for a moment. When we feel the impulse to make a moment about ourselves, we learn to say, “Thanks for sharing,” and let the impulse go.

Feeling like we are owed for our service and comparing our generosity to that of those around us are just a couple of the ways addiction seeks to separate us from others. Service and kindness help us reconnect. We keep our focus on those we are helping. We hope that the convention‐goers who purchase a mug or a T‐shirt look back fondly on their convention experience for years to come. We hope that the hungry person felt some relief for a little while; we hope that if we see them again, they look and feel better. We think of ourselves a bit less, we think of others a bit more, and we begin to feel gratitude.

I may never be perfectly selfless, but I can try to serve as though it’s not all about me. I will make my service about others today.

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7 SEPTEMBER

Patience and the Process of Healing

Healing takes time, but it does happen. We must be patient with ourselves.

—Living Clean, Chapter 4, “Sex”

Some of us came into NA hoping for a speedy recovery, like the way we’d bounced back after that accident and got over the flu right quick. We wanted to put addiction behind us, and then we could get on with life. A mixture of hope and denial convinced us that detoxing would fix us. Our experience told a different story. We’d been able to stop using on occasion, but we could never seem to stay stopped. At some point, we realized we needed more than a spin‐dry, and we rallied the patience to persevere on a just‐for‐today basis.

We face our lives and ourselves in everyday living, as the Basic Text suggests. We strive for progress while taking care not to expect perfection. Sticking with it calls on us to be patient with the process and ourselves. Recovery is ongoing for folks like us, not something we can look at in the rearview mirror. We consider ourselves recovering, not recovered, addicts.

Practicing patience requires us to be more gentle with ourselves. We attempt to nurture kind and encouraging thoughts, shutting down the harsh self‐talk that says, “I should be better than this by now.” When we measure our progress against some unrealistic benchmark, or worse, compare our insides to others’ outsides, it’s no wonder we come up short. We focus on finding satisfaction with the pace of our progress. Patience serves as a bridge to some much‐needed hope, faith, and humility as we learn to trust the process.

We’ll need all of these spiritual principles and more as we navigate the minefields of our past with the Twelve Steps and a sponsor’s guidance. Trauma and abuse cast a long shadow on many of our lives; we learn to be patient with ourselves as an expression of love. We come to understand our past without allowing it to define us. All of this takes time—time that’s available to us because we’re learning to practice patience.

I invite patience to help me find satisfaction with my progress and access the resources I need for continued recovery and healing.

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8 SEPTEMBER

Gratitude Transforms Us

Gratitude in action is an engine for change: As we carry the message, our own lives transform.

—Guiding Principles, Tradition Five, Opening Reflection

We tell the newcomer, “Welcome home,” as we give them our number, an IP, and a meeting list. “Call me anytime. Hang in there—it gets better.” This simple act of gratitude carries a powerful message, just as Tradition Five and Step Twelve intend. Simple words and actions like these take place in meetings every day. Though our intention may be to help the new or potential member, we end up helping ourselves, too. We’re reminded of where we came from, and our gratitude engine gets tuned up.

In NA, all of our service efforts focus—directly or indirectly—on our primary purpose. Groups are the main vehicle for carrying the message, and it takes trusted servants to make them run smoothly. Likewise, events carry a message and require a lot of work behind the scenes. We serve to ensure that the addict who reaches out for help by phone or online finds the information they need to get to their first meeting. All of this and more happens within a bigger context for NA service that goes largely unnoticed. Our fellow members are hard at work translating literature, telling the world that we’re here to help, and demonstrating that NA is a reliable program of recovery.

We tell the newcomer that change is possible and barely notice how our lives transform as we carry that message. It’s a happy by‐product, a pleasant surprise, an unintended consequence. Call it what you will, there is no doubt that our lives change, just as we do. Each Step has an impact on who we are and how we see ourselves. We connect with a Higher Power, with ourselves, and with other people.

By the time we get to Step Twelve, we’re not the same people, and all of that change has made us increasingly able to serve. Our newfound approach to life reflects this transformation. We are there for each other in moments of crisis and celebration. It’s who we are and what we do. We take this “How can I help?” mindset into the community, and it changes the way we interact with the world.

I will look for opportunities to give of myself today and take time to appreciate my transformation.

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9 SEPTEMBER

Humility Is Living in Reality

Humility is most easily identified as an acceptance of who we truly are— neither worse nor better than we believed we were when we were using, just human.

—NA Step Working Guides, Step One, “Spiritual Principles”

In early recovery, we often find ourselves going from unrealistic, grandiose self‐perception to believing we are the worst person in history. It’s that familiar addict pendulum swing— from one extreme to the other (with an optional sound effect):

I’m a spiritual giant deserving of high praise—WHOOSH!—I’m a worthless piece of trash. I’m the hottest person here—WHOOSH!—I’m repulsive and don’t deserve to live.

I’m the only parent who knows what they’re doing—WHOOSH!—I’m going to screw up my kid worse than my parents screwed me up.

Torchbearer of overblown self‐importance—WHOOSH!—barren self‐pity farm. Hero—WHOOSH!—zero.

Getting clean and working the Twelve Steps of NA can slow our addict pendulum and greatly narrow the distance of its swing. The humility that ensues from working Steps will help us to find that serene sweet spot somewhere in the middle. This place is where our true selves reside. Here lives reality.

Humility is like kryptonite to our self‐indulgence, jealousy, and entitlement. It allows us to accept the beautiful muddle of our humanity, the truth of our perfectly imperfect selves, and our authentic place in the world. We can have reasonable expectations of ourselves and let others be who they are without our interference. We can find humor in our shortcomings and try to do better when criticized, instead of wanting to annihilate ourselves when we make a mistake.

Perhaps most crucially, we don’t boast about our spiritual growth, especially in comparison to other members, nor do we overindulge in denigrating who we “used to be” when we were using. We were human then, and we’re human now.

I will try to be mindful of where my pendulum is swinging today. Though I can accept where I am, I’ll still try to move toward the center because that’s what’s real.

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10 SEPTEMBER

Surrendering to a New Way of Life

Admitting our powerlessness is a surrender, an admission that we don’t know the solution to our problems.

—IP #17, For Those in Treatment, “Recovery in Narcotics Anonymous”

Admitting powerlessness over our addiction is often the first time we surrender to anything. Never mind the fact that we used to surrender to the drugs every day! Many of us had tried to clean up on our own, without success. We couldn’t control our using, so what makes us think we can control our recovery?

We experience one of the greatest paradoxes in NA when we let go of our attempts to control the recovery process and find peace and freedom as a result. One member shared, “Surrender is like learning how to float in water, instead of thrashing about. It’s a process of letting go.”

We can surrender quietly to this new way of life and allow the experience of other addicts to guide our next steps. There is a sense of relief that accompanies surrender, a peace in powerlessness. Giving up our illusions of self‐control frees us to become better versions of ourselves.

And, in NA, we don’t have to walk this journey alone. We ask for help when we need it. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing we do, but it gets easier with practice. We learn to surrender our old ideas, listen to suggestions, consult a Higher Power, and make up our minds about what course of action we need to take. We do the footwork, let go of the outcome, and move on—confident that surrender will help us accept whatever unfolds.

I will practice admitting my powerlessness in any situation and free myself to see new solutions. I will surrender the things I can’t control.

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11 SEPTEMBER

Self-Support Takes Faith

Belief in self-support is a massive leap of faith. We commit to the idea that we will be enough.

—Guiding Principles, Tradition Seven, Opening Reflection

For many of us, a belief in our own inadequacy was a constant undercurrent in our lives before NA. We did our best to keep it hidden by putting on a brave front. Behind our masks, thoughts that we were not enough still plagued us. This idea that we lacked sufficient ability, power, or means follows a lot of us into recovery. Although we’d stopped using, we still felt incapable of dealing with life.

We can start to rebuild our self‐image by embracing a practical application of humility; we commit to seeing ourselves as part of humanity, no better or worse than the rest of it. With time and effort put into stepwork, we get a more accurate picture of who we are. We warm up to the idea that we will have and will do enough, and even that we are enough.

When self‐support seems like too big of a stretch, we entrust our support system to help us make that leap. We pay attention to the experience of our fellows and emulate their commitment to self‐determination. We lean into acceptance and faith as we figure out what the next right thing might look like. Our collective experience tells us that action is the key to moving an idea from our heads to our hearts. So, what actions align with self‐ support?

When we are present, plugged in, and ready, we can step through doors as they open, find the right words to match the situation, and otherwise take leaps of faith we weren’t sure we had in us. One member’s experience speaks to such a moment: “My mom was paying my rent for my first year clean, but she would also always come around and tell me I wasn’t keeping the place clean enough or that I needed to do something different with my hair.

The idea of saying ‘no’ to her support was scary; the freedom that came with it was a big step toward believing in myself . . . maybe for the first time in my life.”

How can I stretch toward self‐support today? What conversations might inspire me to take that leap of faith or prepare me for opportunities on my horizon?

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12 SEPTEMBER

Individuality, Openness, and Our Spiritual Lives

Each of us finds our own way to live spiritually, and that allows us freedom to make choices about how we live.

—Living Clean, Chapter 3, “A Spiritual, Not Religious Program”

Throughout our literature, in meetings, from the podium, over a coffee or tea, during late‐night phone calls, alone in quiet meditation or prayer, we’re reminded that NA is a spiritual program. Whatever our individual beliefs or practices or methods or paths are or aren’t— whether they be secular or religious, or do not fit within that binary—we can’t deny that spirituality is central to a life of recovery in NA. Who we are spiritually and how we express that aspect of our individuality is unique to us, though we may use elements from all kinds of traditions, or none at all. Many of us can—and will—easily explain our relationship with our Higher Power. For many others, it’s not intelligible through words. And it’s private, something we’d rather not share about in a specific way.

For NA members, the road to recovery is paved by the same Twelve Steps, yet the journey we choose is varied. Our path to living spiritually is personal, though there’s some commonality and mutual understanding derived from the principles that appear throughout this book. Application of these principles is based on our individual needs and desires. We respond differently to everyday situations; we see through our own lenses and react to events in our own ways. And how we connect to the program—and its principles and spiritual nature—most often doesn’t look the same when we’re new as when we’ve become more comfortable in our own skin, or as we undergo life’s upswings and tragedies. As we continue our recovery journey, we find the Steps prepare each of us to meet our individual circumstances.

Reciprocity is important here, too, as described by a member: “You have your own spiritual expression and your beliefs, and I have mine. That I can be my own person in NA reminds me that as you let me be me, I must let you be you.”

My aim is to be open to the rich mosaic of spiritual expression I find in NA. I’ll explore and nurture my own beliefs as I apply the principles in our Steps.

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13 SEPTEMBER

Sincerity and Keeping It Real

We listen to one another with an open mind and an open heart, and we share our experience with the understanding that it won’t necessarily be shared by everyone else.

—Living Clean, Chapter 3, “A Spiritual Journey”

Among the first things many of us notice about NA is how recovering addicts get very real with each other when sharing in meetings. Sincerity is sometimes mistaken for weakness, especially among using addicts. Showing up to recovery meetings for the first time and seeing people willingly exposing vulnerabilities the way we do can be both shocking and refreshing. We start to listen and to open up.

Being present and showing up wholeheartedly would mean a 180‐degree change from our old approach. We were accustomed to wearing masks, deflecting attention, or adapting to whatever was happening around us. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we played along. Not making any waves was key to our survival before we got clean.

Early in recovery, we may find ourselves listening to others and then trying to match how they share. Not wanting to call attention to ourselves, we might string together slogans or pretend to be something we’re not. One addict wrote, “I would tailor my shares to try to appeal to the listeners, and the harder I tried to make people relate, the phonier I felt (and sounded). When I just tell my own story my own way, people seem to connect so much more.”

Something within us shifts as we do the work of staying clean. We prioritize honesty and authenticity over ease, empathy over shallow connection, from‐the‐heart sincerity over fitting in. When we share, we allow ourselves and each other the dignity of our own understanding and experience. We each take on the responsibility of expressing what’s going on with us. It’s harder to talk the talk when we don’t walk the walk. We share what we’ve found, what we think, and where our uncertainties lie. The truer we are in what we share with others, the better the odds that they will be able to relate.

As a recovering addict, sincerity makes it possible for me to connect with others wholeheartedly. I will keep it real today.

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14 SEPTEMBER

Service, Purpose, and Belonging

Service helps us feel like we belong. We have a place and a purpose. The experience can be humbling. Doing as the group asks, rather than as we choose, is a form of surrender.

—Guiding Principles, Tradition One, “For Groups”

Feelings of belonging don’t often come easy for us addicts, though some of us faked it well. We were social chameleons who so often felt like imposters, masking insecurity with perfectionism and hiding our control issues behind allegedly high standards and attention to detail. For others of us, that game seemed like way too much work. We were too cool for all that. We prized our loner status. Or maybe we were just too high to care. Whatever our situation was, most of us have been on a difficult path to a sense of community and solidarity.

In meetings, we hear right away that our desire to get clean—no matter how desperately or indifferently we feel it—is our ticket to membership. We are also told—and shown by example—how important service is in solidifying our relationship to the Fellowship and in helping us to stay clean.

“Until I eventually took my sponsor’s direction and took on a service commitment, I never felt like I was really a part of in NA,” one member shared. “I never thought I wanted to be. All of a sudden, I had a voice. I started to use it, and people even listened.”

“I took on five commitments in the first 30 days,” a newer member shared. “I stayed clean, but I made everyone bananas with my brilliant ideas to make everything better. Soon I found out about ‘group conscience’—which wasn’t necessarily the same as my conscience. I always wanted to know why why why.”

And someone with a lot of time shared, “After 33 years, I still find it hard to ‘let go and let the group.’. . . I want to explain all the history of how we do things in NA. I may be older, but that doesn’t always make me the wisest. Unfortunately!”

If I’m not an NA service warrior, I’m going to become one (within reason). If I’m a talker in business meetings, I’m going to make an effort to be a listener. If I’m a doer, I’m going to teach someone else how. If I’m a control freak, I’m going to try to “let go, and let the group”—just for today.

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15 SEPTEMBER

Practicing Honor the NA Way

We learn to trust our intuition and honor our feelings.

—Living Clean, Chapter 5, “Conscious Contact”

The concept of honor comes with some baggage. It brings to mind ideas about virtue and morality that resonate with some members but aren’t really our thing within NA. Another form of honor refers to expressions of admiration and respect. That might mean awards and fanfare in some walks of life. But honor doesn’t require big, bold, public recognition; in fact, we find that practicing honor as a spiritual principle is often pretty quiet. Although many of us are no strangers to spectacle, we intuitively know that for honor to serve a spiritual purpose, it might be best to dial down the drama and draw on humility instead.

Thinking about what it means to honor our feelings and experience gives the concept of honor a new purpose and reveals its utility as a spiritual principle. We practice honor in a classic, low‐key, NA way when we approach recovery with a healthy degree of respect and humility. In the experience of at least one member, “This is the kind of low‐key honor that feeds my soul.” For many of us, that starts with conceding that those who came before us were on to something. When we give the Steps, NA literature, and each other an honest try, it’s a choice to set aside thoughts of going it alone. We honor the process and the path cleared by our predecessors when we read a book or two, consult with our sponsor and friends in recovery, dive in, and find some relief.

The same process that brings relief also allows us to access feelings anew. We may find this uncomfortable, but it’s worth the effort. We honor our feelings by feeling the full range of human emotions. We resist the urge to repress the unpleasant ones or deny ourselves the benefits of sharing our emotional burdens by being “fine” all the time. Because we’ve honored our recovery process, we know ourselves and can truly be ourselves.

I will practice honor the NA way by engaging with the recovery process, connecting with my emotions, and sharing my feelings and experience with someone else.

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16 SEPTEMBER

We Are Responsible for Our Recovery

Although we are not responsible for our disease, we are responsible for our recovery.

—Basic Text, Chapter 3: Why Are We Here?

Responsibility was a dirty word in active addiction. We feared it. We avoided it. The people close to us—and perhaps those in law enforcement and the justice system—told us over and over: “Take some responsibility for your life.” We thought freedom meant freedom from responsibilities, but, ultimately, we found it to be quite the opposite. We were enslaved by our addiction. For many of us, this version of freedom landed us behind bars.

We are not “bad” people because we suffer from the disease of addiction, and we’re not bad people trying to become “good” in NA. But while having the disease isn’t our fault, it’s still important to recognize that many of the consequences we face stem from our own decisions. We made choices. We took action. A member shared, “All my life I saw myself as a victim of my circumstances, and I made blaming others the centerpiece of my victimhood.” Through stepwork, we discover that it’s important to take responsibility for our past, even though we are powerless to change it. To move forward, we cannot cling to guilt over our past actions, nor can we succumb to the shame from the social stigma of being an addict. We can’t let our disease continue to overwhelm and paralyze us. We must act differently.

NA offers us a chance to take responsibility for our present and future lives. We do this slowly at first—perhaps by performing the most basic of life tasks, being of service in meetings, getting a sponsor. We discover that people can influence our recovery, but we have to do the work ourselves if we are to reap its benefits. “No one goes to meetings for me, calls my sponsor, or works Steps for me,” the member continued. “No one else is to blame if I choose to neglect my recovery and am caused pain by my choices—or cause pain to others.”

For many of us, the work we do in NA reveals a new perspective on our disease. Many of us become grateful for our addiction because our journey toward responsibility in recovery has made our lives so beautiful and fulfilling. And so free.

I’m not responsible for the way I’m wired, but I am responsible for my life and my choices. Today I will refrain from blaming others for the consequences of my actions. Today, for me, responsibility equals freedom.

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17 SEPTEMBER

Hospitality and the Newcomer

Feeling welcome, and welcoming others to our new way of life, helps us see the world as a less hostile place.

—Guiding Principles, Tradition Three, “Spiritual Principles”

“I don’t remember many details about my first NA meetings, but I can tell you this: I left every one of them feeling a little better, a little more hopeful, and a little more convinced that you folks had found a way out, one that could work for me, too,” a member shared. “Meetings still have that effect on me.” And maybe that’s the point of hospitality as a spiritual principle and practice in NA. It’s not the individual things we do or say that are most memorable, it’s all of those things taken together and the way we make each other feel. All of us can contribute to a group’s hospitality, and all of us reap the benefits.

Hospitality gives our various strengths a chance to shine. There are great huggers among us and others who remember the names of new members. Still others offer a sincere welcome to all of us every week, such as “I’m so glad y’all made it another week ’cause I need each and every one of you.” We might notice how the member charged with setting out literature always recruits someone to help them. Could they do this task alone? Sure, but we carry the message by being more inclusive. We help others feel a part of and affirm the same for ourselves. Each time we tell newcomers, “Welcome home,” we’re reminded that we’re home, too.

Hospitality is made up of these words and actions—and so many more. The atmosphere of recovery that emerges is greater than the sum of its parts. We embrace the worth and dignity of each of our fellow addicts and of ourselves. Through our hospitable actions, we contribute to a world in which we are all treated with equality and compassion.

I will contribute to the collective efforts that make up NA hospitality and consider how my words and actions can bring some of the same warmth and camaraderie to my life outside of NA.

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18 SEPTEMBER

Living Life in Balance

Sometimes we get confused and think that to live spiritually means that we are happy and get what we want, and that if we’re not happy or don’t get our way, something is out of balance.

—Living Clean, Chapter 3, “Spirituality Is Practical”

For many of us, our lives get so much better so quickly in the early years of recovery that it’s only natural to think we’ve found the key to happiness, unencumbered by life’s difficulties. It’s nice while it lasts, but ultimately, as one member puts it, “Life is more than killing time between meetings, and I eventually experienced hardships despite working a pretty good program.” Life is not always fair—that’s a fact. Sometimes we lose loved ones, homes, and relationships even when we’re spiritually centered.

The results of day‐to‐day life are not always what we would have hoped for. Nevertheless, we learn how to walk through situations by living according to spiritual principles. If we don’t get the job we wanted or a long‐term relationship comes to an end, we hold on and stay clean. Our world may still be thrown out of balance from time to time but, as long as we stay clean, we can survive sadness, disappointment, and uncertainty and return to balance again and again. We experience the full range of human emotions and marvel at the strength of our spiritual foundation.

Life is in session, and we get to choose how we want to participate.

Today I will not equate my program of recovery with the circumstances of life on life’s terms. I will show up in my life even when things don’t go my way and remind myself how much I have to be grateful for.

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19 SEPTEMBER

A Bond of Selflessness

Make us servants of Your will and grant us a bond of selflessness, that this may truly be Your work, not ours—in order that no addict, anywhere, need die from the horrors of addiction.

—Basic Text, Introduction

The service work we do in NA is all about carrying our message of hope to addicts seeking recovery. No matter what our beliefs about a Higher Power are, most of us can agree that anything capable of keeping addicts all over the world clean, just for today, is a power greater than any of us as individuals. “I couldn’t keep myself clean,” one member shared. “So there’s no way I have the power to keep anyone else clean either!”

The same holds true with our service efforts: Our job is not to keep anyone clean or make anyone recover. We carry the message. Our Service Prayer was adapted from the literature prayer in the Basic Text, acknowledging the crucial role selflessness plays in our services.

Many of us understand a Higher Power to simply be whatever force keeps us clean, and when we serve selflessly, we can be a part of that force for the addicts who benefit from our work.

Selflessness isn’t always easy. Self‐centeredness will try to make our work about us, rather than those we serve. Maybe we think a certain service position will make us popular or powerful. Maybe we think sponsoring a lot of addicts, or the “cool” addicts, will lend us some prestige in our anonymous Fellowship. Maybe we think having the biggest home group or the best conventions means we are recovery rock stars. Some members say that ego can stand for “edging God out,” and there’s some truth in that: When we allow ourselves to move to the center, we have to push something (or someone) else out of the center.

The Service Prayer reminds us to keep the needs of the still‐suffering addict at the heart of our service efforts. We do our part and then try to stay out of the way. We won’t get it perfect, but practice helps!

I will practice selflessness by striving to keep the message—and a power greater than myself—at the center of my service efforts.

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20 SEPTEMBER

Hope Around the World

Narcotics Anonymous offers hope to addicts around the world, regardless of any real or imagined differences that might separate us.

—Guiding Principles, Tradition One, Opening Essay

“Addiction doesn’t discriminate. Fortunately, hope doesn’t either,” a speaker shared during an international marathon meeting held online. “And neither should we.”

Our hope lives at the intersection of anonymity, unity, acceptance, and inclusiveness. We believe that any addict can get and stay clean in NA, no matter who we are, what we’ve done, where we live, or any aspect of ourselves that, on the surface, would seem to separate us. To help us feel like we belong, we encourage each other to look for the similarities, not the differences; to focus on the message, not the messenger. We strive to bring this openness to visitors to our home group, and to meetings and NA events we’re lucky enough to attend in unfamiliar settings with unfamiliar setups, in other areas, in other countries, in other languages.

The universality of hope in our program and our message doesn’t diminish the fact that there are differences among us, real ones. As important as it is for us to take responsibility to see past our own differences, we have perhaps an even greater responsibility to be inclusive of those who may have experiences or identities that depart from the group’s majority. Actively including others assures a place for each of us and elevates hope for all of us in the rooms.

To give hope to those who feel intimidated or unheard by the majority, some of us find it important to establish meetings that embrace a similarity of experience or identity. There is room for this diversity of hope’s expression within NA; autonomy also ensures that addicts are able to find each other in ways that are welcoming and safe—and acknowledge and honor the similarities inherent within our differences.

NA’s message of hope is heard around the world. I am an integral part of this whole. Today I strive to receive that message from whoever offers it and to take responsibility for carrying it to whoever needs it.

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Wooohooo the Spiritual Principle a Day book is available for purchase. I bought mine!!!

https://cart-us.na.org/a-spiritual-principle-a-day-1110

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21 SEPTEMBER

Forgiving Others, Forgiving Ourselves

Sometimes the path to forgiving ourselves begins with forgiving another for their lack of forgiveness.

—Living Clean, Chapter 5, “Amends and Reconciliation”

At first glance, this quote may sound like a riddle, but our experience validates its wisdom. Hoping to be forgiven is only human. Despite advice to the contrary, we sometimes harbor expectations about how amends should be received. We have ideas about how and when we’ll be forgiven. We anticipate the relief it will bring—only to be disappointed at times.

Given the harm we’ve caused, it’s understandable that some people may not be quick to forgive us. It hurts nonetheless. The conventional wisdom that “expectations are just premature resentments” makes even more sense to us now. Regardless of how our amends were received, we do our best to clean up our side of the street and let go of any ill will.

We take ownership of the damage we’ve caused and earnestly make an effort to compensate for our wrongs and change our behavior. We release those expectations we had about receiving forgiveness, let go of any hard feelings we set ourselves up for, and— with time—find forgiveness for ourselves and those who were unable to forgive us. Letting all of that go frees up a lot of headspace and energy.

We’re not as attached to how our formal amends were or were not received; we’ve done the work to make things right whether or not others recognize it. Our actions lead us to a deeper level of self‐acceptance—who we were then and who we are now. We can focus our energy on becoming the best version of ourselves by continuing to work the Twelve Steps.

Today I will empathize with those who have yet to forgive me. I will contemplate forgiveness in my Eleventh Step practice and seek to forgive on a deeper level. I will forgive others for not forgiving me.

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