We can also use the steps to improve our attitudes. Our best thinking got us into trouble. We recognize the need for change.
Basic Text, p. 55
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When new in recovery, most of us had at least one person we just couldnt stand. We thought that person was the rudest, most obnoxious person in the program. We knew there was something we could do, some principle of recovery we could practice to get over the way we felt about this personbut what? We asked our sponsor for guidance. We were probably assured, with an amused smile, that if we just kept coming back, wed see the person get better. That made sense to us. We believed that the steps of NA worked in the lives of everyone. If they could work for us, they could work for this horrible person, too.
Time passed, and at some point we noticed that the person didnt seem as rude or obnoxious as before. In fact, he or she had become downright tolerable, maybe even likeable. We got a pleasant jolt as we realized who had really gotten better. Because we had kept coming back, because we had kept working the steps, our perception of this person had changed. The person whod plagued us had become tolerable because wed developed some tolerance; he or she had become likeable because wed developed the ability to love.
So who really gets better? We do! As we practice the program, we gain a whole new outlook on those around us by gaining a new outlook on ourselves.
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Just for today: As I get better, so will others. Today, I will practice tolerance and try to love those I meet.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
I looked into including the Just For Today from NA or AA into Sober Time at one point, but unfortunately it’s not my intellectual property and it’s not in the public domain.
A lot of app developers don’t care much for rules. The only way that Google or Apple will do something about it is if someone actually reported it to NA/AA and they filed a DMCA complaint against that app. Google or Apple will then remove the app from their store and could potentially ban the developer’s account completely (depending on previous history of infringements). The chances of all this happening is pretty low; NA and AA don’t have much of a technological presence. Still, it’s not something I feel comfortable with. I don’t want to worry about an app and community that I’ve spent years building and improving disappearing overnight. So I followed the rules and didn’t include JFT or the Big Book into the app.
Principles before personalities right? Traditions hold us together.
And it’s so true that if we just keep coming back how we see things in a whole new light. It’s working for me anyways, as I see it work for many others…
Living just for today relieves the burden of the past and the fear of the future. We learned to take whatever actions are necessary and to leave the results in the hands of our Higher Power.
Basic Text, p. 94
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In our active addiction, fear of the future and what might happen was a reality for many of us. What if we got arrested? lost our job? our spouse died? we went bankrupt? and on, and on, and on. It was not unusual for us to spend hours, even whole days thinking about what might happen. We played out entire conversations and scenarios before they ever occurred, then charted our course on the basis of what if… By doing this, we set ourselves up for disappointment after disappointment.
From listening in meetings, we learn that living in the present, not the world of what if, is the only way to short-circuit our self-fulfilling prophecies of doom and gloom. We can only deal with what is real today, not our fearful fantasies of the future.
Coming to believe that our Higher Power has only the best in store for us is one way we can combat that fear. We hear in meetings that our Higher Power wont give us more than we can handle in one day. And we know from experience that, if we ask, the God weve come to understand will surely care for us. We stay clean through adverse situations by practicing our faith in the care of a Power greater than ourselves. Each time we do, we become less fearful of what if and more comfortable with what is.
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Just for today: I will look forward to the future with faith in my Higher Power.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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. 99
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How often have we heard it said in meetings that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves? At times we may get stuck in our recovery, unable, afraid, or unwilling to make the decisions we know we must make to move forward. Perhaps we are unable to end a relationship that just isnt working. Maybe our job has become a source of too much conflict. Or perhaps we feel we need to find a new sponsor but are afraid to begin the search. Through the grace of our Higher Power, unexpected change may occur in precisely the area we felt unable to alter.
We sometimes allow ourselves to become stuck in the problem instead of moving forward toward the solution. At these times, we often find that our Higher Power does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Perhaps our partner decides to end our relationship. We may get fired or laid off. Or our sponsor tells us that he or she can no longer work with us, forcing us to look for a new one.
Sometimes what occurs in our lives can be frightening, as change often seems. But we also hear that God never closes a door without opening another one. As we move forward with faith, the strength of our Higher Power is never far from us. Our recovery is strengthened by these changes.
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Just for today: I trust that the God of my understanding will do for me what I cannot do for myself.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Being involved in service makes me feel worthwhile.
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When most of us arrived in Narcotics Anonymous, we had very little self-worth left to salvage. Many members say that they began to develop self-esteem through being of service early in their recovery. Something just short of a miracle occurs when we begin to have a positive impact on others lives through our service efforts.
Most of us dont have a lot of experience, strength, or hope to share at thirty days clean. In fact, some members will tell us in no uncertain terms that what we can do best is listen. But at thirty days, we do offer something to that addict just coming into the rooms of NA, struggling to get twenty-four hours clean. The very newest NA member, the one with only the desire to stop using and none of the tools, can hardly imagine anyone staying clean for a year, or two years, or ten. But he or she can relate to those people with thirty days clean, picking up a keytag with a look of pride and disbelief emblazoned on their faces.
Service is something that is our unique giftsomething that no one can take away from us. We give, and we get. Through service, many of us start on the sometimes long road back to becoming productive members of society.
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Just for today: I will be grateful for the opportunity to be of service.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
There is one thing more than anything else that will defeat us in our recovery; this is an attitude of indifference or intolerance toward spiritual principles.
Basic Text, p. 18
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When we first came to NA, many of us had great difficulty accepting the spiritual principles underlying this programand for good reason. No matter how wed tried to control our addiction, wed found ourselves powerless. We grew angry and frustrated with anyone who suggested there was hope for us, because we knew better. Spiritual ideas may have had some bearing on other peoples lives, but not on ours.
Despite our indifference or intolerance toward spiritual principles, we were drawn to Narcotics Anonymous. There, we met other addicts. Theyd been where wed been, powerless and hopeless, yet theyd found a way not only to stop using but to live and enjoy life clean. They spoke of the spiritual principles that had pointed the way for them to this new life of recovery. For them, these principles were not just theories but a part of their practical experience. Yes, we had good reason to be skeptical, but these spiritual principles spoken of by other NA members really seemed to work.
Once we admitted this, we didnt necessarily accept every single spiritual idea we heard. But we did start to think that, if these principles had worked for others, just maybe theyd work for us, too. For a beginning, that willingness was enough.
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Just for today: Just maybe the spiritual principles I hear spoken of in NA might work for me. I am willing, at least, to open my mind to the possibility.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
My gratitude speaks when I care and when I share with others the NA way.
Gratitude Prayer
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The longer we stay clean, the more we experience feelings of gratitude for our recovery. These feelings of gratitude arent limited to particular gifts like new friends or the ability to be employed. More frequently, they arise from the overall sense of joy we feel in our new lives. These feelings are enhanced by our certainty of the course our lives would have taken if it werent for the miracle weve experienced in Narcotics Anonymous.
These feelings are so all-encompassing, so wondrous, and sometimes so overwhelming that we often cant find words for them. We sometimes openly weep with happiness while sharing in a meeting, yet we grope for words to express what we are feeling. We want so badly to convey to newcomers the gratitude we feel, but it seems that our language lacks the superlatives to describe it.
When we share with tears in our eyes, when we choke up and cant talk at allthese are the times when our gratitude speaks most clearly. We share our gratitude directly from our hearts; with their hearts, others hear and understand. Our gratitude speaks eloquently, though our words may not.
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Just for today: My gratitude has a voice of its own; when it speaks, the heart understands. Today, I will share my gratitude with others, whether I can find the words or not.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Each group has but one primary purposeto carry the message to the addict who still suffers.
Tradition Five
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Our home group means a lot to us. After all, where would we be without our favorite NA meeting? Our group sometimes sponsors picnics or other activities. Often, home group members get together to see a movie or go bowling. We have all made good friendships through our home group, and we wouldnt trade that warmth for the world.
But sometimes we must take inventory of what our group is doing to fulfill its primary purposeto carry the message to the still-suffering addict. Sometimes when we go to our meetings, we know almost everyone and get caught up in the laughter and fun. But what about the newcomer? Have we remembered to reach out to the new people who may be sitting by themselves, lonely and frightened? Do we remember to welcome those visiting our group?
The love found in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous helps us recover from addiction. But once we have gotten clean, we must remember to give to others what was so freely given to us. We need to reach out to the addict who still suffers. After all, the newcomer is the most important person at any meeting.
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Just for today: Im grateful for the warm fellowship Ive found in my home group. I will reach out my hand to the still-suffering addict, offering that same fellowship to others.
Copyright 1991-2016 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved