April 4
Guarding our recovery
“Remember that we... are ultimately responsible for our recovery and our decisions.”
Basic Text, p. 103
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Most of us will face choices that challenge our recovery. If we find ourselves in extreme physical pain, for example, we will have to decide whether or not we will take medication. We will have to be very honest with ourselves about the severity of our pain, honest with our doctor about our addiction and our recovery, and honest with our sponsor. In the end, however, the decision is ours, for we are the ones who must live with the consequences.
Another common challenge is the choice of attending a party where alcohol will be served. Again, we should consider our own spiritual state. If someone who supports our recovery can attend the event with us, so much the better. However, if we don’t feel up to such a challenge, we should probably decline the invitation. Today, we know that preserving our recovery is more important than saving face.
All such decisions are tough ones, requiring not only our careful consideration but the guidance of our sponsor and complete surrender to a Higher Power. Using all of these resources, we make the best decision we can. Ultimately, however, the decision is ours. Today, we are responsible for our own recovery.
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Just for today: When faced with a decision that may challenge my recovery, I will consult all the resources at my disposal before I make my choice.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Samo za Danas (Just for today)
Moderator: sanela
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 5
Identification
“Someone finally knew the crazy thoughts that I had and the crazy things I’d done.”
––––––––
Addicts often feel terminally unique. We’re sure that no one used drugs like we did or had to do the things that we did to get them. Feeling that no one really understands us can keep us from recovery for many years.
But once we come to the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, we begin to lose that feeling of being “the worst” or “the craziest.” We listen as members share their experiences. We discover that others have walked the same twisted path that we’ve walked and still have been able to find recovery. We begin to believe that recovery is available to us, too.
As we progress in our own recovery, sometimes our thinking is still insane. However, we find that when we share the hard time we may be having, others identify, sharing how they have dealt with such difficulties. No matter how troubled our thinking seems, we find hope when others relate to us, passing along the solutions they’ve found. We begin to believe that we can survive whatever we’re going through to continue on in our recovery.
The gift of Narcotics Anonymous is that we learn we are not alone. We can get clean and stay clean by sharing our experience, our strength, and even our crazy thinking with other members. When we do, we open ourselves to the solutions others have found to the challenges we face.
––––––––
Just for today: I am grateful that I can identify with others. Today, I will listen as they share their experience, and I’ll share mine with them.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Identification
“Someone finally knew the crazy thoughts that I had and the crazy things I’d done.”
––––––––
Addicts often feel terminally unique. We’re sure that no one used drugs like we did or had to do the things that we did to get them. Feeling that no one really understands us can keep us from recovery for many years.
But once we come to the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, we begin to lose that feeling of being “the worst” or “the craziest.” We listen as members share their experiences. We discover that others have walked the same twisted path that we’ve walked and still have been able to find recovery. We begin to believe that recovery is available to us, too.
As we progress in our own recovery, sometimes our thinking is still insane. However, we find that when we share the hard time we may be having, others identify, sharing how they have dealt with such difficulties. No matter how troubled our thinking seems, we find hope when others relate to us, passing along the solutions they’ve found. We begin to believe that we can survive whatever we’re going through to continue on in our recovery.
The gift of Narcotics Anonymous is that we learn we are not alone. We can get clean and stay clean by sharing our experience, our strength, and even our crazy thinking with other members. When we do, we open ourselves to the solutions others have found to the challenges we face.
––––––––
Just for today: I am grateful that I can identify with others. Today, I will listen as they share their experience, and I’ll share mine with them.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 6
Growing honesty
“On a practical level, changes occur because what’s appropriate to one phase of recovery may not be for another.”
Basic Text, p. 105
––––––––
When we first came to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us had no legitimate occupation. Not all of us suddenly decide we’re going to become honest and productive model citizens the moment we arrive in NA. But we soon find, in recovery, that we are not so comfortable doing many of the things we once did without a second thought when we were using.
As we grow in our recovery, we begin to be honest in matters that probably hadn’t bothered us when we used. We start returning extra change a cashier may have given us by mistake, or admitting when we hit a parked car. We find that if we can begin to be honest in these small ways, the bigger tests of our honesty become much easier to handle.
Many of us came here with very little capacity to be honest. But we find that as we work the Twelve Steps, our lives begin to change. We are no longer comfortable when we benefit at the expense of others. And we can feel good about our newfound honesty.
––––––––
Just for today: I will examine the level of honesty in my life and see if I’m comfortable with it.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Growing honesty
“On a practical level, changes occur because what’s appropriate to one phase of recovery may not be for another.”
Basic Text, p. 105
––––––––
When we first came to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us had no legitimate occupation. Not all of us suddenly decide we’re going to become honest and productive model citizens the moment we arrive in NA. But we soon find, in recovery, that we are not so comfortable doing many of the things we once did without a second thought when we were using.
As we grow in our recovery, we begin to be honest in matters that probably hadn’t bothered us when we used. We start returning extra change a cashier may have given us by mistake, or admitting when we hit a parked car. We find that if we can begin to be honest in these small ways, the bigger tests of our honesty become much easier to handle.
Many of us came here with very little capacity to be honest. But we find that as we work the Twelve Steps, our lives begin to change. We are no longer comfortable when we benefit at the expense of others. And we can feel good about our newfound honesty.
––––––––
Just for today: I will examine the level of honesty in my life and see if I’m comfortable with it.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 7
The value of the past
“This firsthand experience in all phases of illness and recovery is of unparalleled therapeutic value. We are here to share it freely with any addict who wants to recover.”
Basic Text, p. 10
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Most of us came into the program with some serious regrets. We had never finished high school, or we had missed going to college. We had destroyed friendships and marriages. We had lost jobs. And we knew that we couldn’t change any of it. We may have thought that we’d always be regretful and simply have to find a way to live with our regrets.
On the contrary, we find that our past represents an untapped gold mine the first time we are called on to share it with a struggling newcomer. As we listen to someone share their Fifth Step with us, we can give a special form of comfort that no one else could provide—our own experience. We’ve done the same things. We’ve had the same feelings of shame and remorse. We’ve suffered in the ways only an addict can suffer. We can relate—and so can they.
Our past is valuable—in fact, priceless—because we can use all of it to help the addict who still suffers. Our Higher Power can work through us when we share our past. That possibility is why we are here, and its fulfillment is the most important goal we have to accomplish.
––––––––
Just for today: I no longer regret my past because, with it, I can share with other addicts, perhaps averting the pain or even death of another.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The value of the past
“This firsthand experience in all phases of illness and recovery is of unparalleled therapeutic value. We are here to share it freely with any addict who wants to recover.”
Basic Text, p. 10
––––––––
Most of us came into the program with some serious regrets. We had never finished high school, or we had missed going to college. We had destroyed friendships and marriages. We had lost jobs. And we knew that we couldn’t change any of it. We may have thought that we’d always be regretful and simply have to find a way to live with our regrets.
On the contrary, we find that our past represents an untapped gold mine the first time we are called on to share it with a struggling newcomer. As we listen to someone share their Fifth Step with us, we can give a special form of comfort that no one else could provide—our own experience. We’ve done the same things. We’ve had the same feelings of shame and remorse. We’ve suffered in the ways only an addict can suffer. We can relate—and so can they.
Our past is valuable—in fact, priceless—because we can use all of it to help the addict who still suffers. Our Higher Power can work through us when we share our past. That possibility is why we are here, and its fulfillment is the most important goal we have to accomplish.
––––––––
Just for today: I no longer regret my past because, with it, I can share with other addicts, perhaps averting the pain or even death of another.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 8
Happiness
“We come to know happiness, joy, and freedom.”
Basic Text, p. 91
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If someone stopped you on the street today and asked if you were happy, what would you say? “Well, gee, let’s see... I have a place to live, food in the refrigerator, a job, my car is running... Well, yes, I guess I’m happy,” you might respond. These are outward examples of things that many of us have traditionally associated with happiness. We often forget, however, that happiness is a choice; no one can make us happy.
Happiness is what we find in our involvement with Narcotics Anonymous. The happiness we derive from a life focused on service to the addict who still suffers is great indeed. When we place service to others ahead of our own desires, we find that we take the focus off ourselves. As a result, we live a more contented, harmonious life. In being of service to others, we find our own needs more than fulfilled.
Happiness. What is it, really? We can think of happiness as contentment and satisfaction. Both of these states of mind seem to come to us when we least strive for them. As we live just for today, carrying the message to the addict who still suffers, we find contentment, happiness, and a deeply meaningful life.
––––––––
Just for today: I am going to be happy. I will find my happiness by being of service to others.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Happiness
“We come to know happiness, joy, and freedom.”
Basic Text, p. 91
––––––––
If someone stopped you on the street today and asked if you were happy, what would you say? “Well, gee, let’s see... I have a place to live, food in the refrigerator, a job, my car is running... Well, yes, I guess I’m happy,” you might respond. These are outward examples of things that many of us have traditionally associated with happiness. We often forget, however, that happiness is a choice; no one can make us happy.
Happiness is what we find in our involvement with Narcotics Anonymous. The happiness we derive from a life focused on service to the addict who still suffers is great indeed. When we place service to others ahead of our own desires, we find that we take the focus off ourselves. As a result, we live a more contented, harmonious life. In being of service to others, we find our own needs more than fulfilled.
Happiness. What is it, really? We can think of happiness as contentment and satisfaction. Both of these states of mind seem to come to us when we least strive for them. As we live just for today, carrying the message to the addict who still suffers, we find contentment, happiness, and a deeply meaningful life.
––––––––
Just for today: I am going to be happy. I will find my happiness by being of service to others.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 9
Acting out
“We learn to experience feelings and realize they can do us no harm unless we act on them.”
IP No. 16, For the Newcomer
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Many of us came to Narcotics Anonymous with something less than an overwhelming desire to stop using. Sure, the drugs were causing us problems, and we wanted to be rid of the problems, but we didn’t want to stop getting high. Eventually, though, we saw that we couldn’t have one without the other. Even though we really wanted to get loaded, we didn’t use; we weren’t willing to pay the price anymore. The longer we stayed clean and worked the program, the more freedom we experienced. Sooner or later, the compulsion to use was lifted from us completely, and we stayed clean because we wanted to live clean.
The same principles apply to other negative impulses that may plague us. We may feel like doing something destructive, just because we want to. We’ve done it before, and sometimes we think we’ve gotten away with it, but sometimes we haven’t. If we’re not willing to pay the price for acting on such feelings, we don’t have to act on them.
It may be hard, maybe even as hard as it was to stay clean in the beginning. But others have felt the same way and have found the freedom not to act on their negative impulses. By sharing about it and seeking the help of other recovering people and a Power greater than ourselves, we can find the direction, the support, and the strength we need to abstain from any destructive compulsion.
––––––––
Just for today: It’s okay to feel my feelings. With the help of my sponsor, my NA friends, and my Higher Power, I am free not to act out my negative feelings.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Acting out
“We learn to experience feelings and realize they can do us no harm unless we act on them.”
IP No. 16, For the Newcomer
––––––––
Many of us came to Narcotics Anonymous with something less than an overwhelming desire to stop using. Sure, the drugs were causing us problems, and we wanted to be rid of the problems, but we didn’t want to stop getting high. Eventually, though, we saw that we couldn’t have one without the other. Even though we really wanted to get loaded, we didn’t use; we weren’t willing to pay the price anymore. The longer we stayed clean and worked the program, the more freedom we experienced. Sooner or later, the compulsion to use was lifted from us completely, and we stayed clean because we wanted to live clean.
The same principles apply to other negative impulses that may plague us. We may feel like doing something destructive, just because we want to. We’ve done it before, and sometimes we think we’ve gotten away with it, but sometimes we haven’t. If we’re not willing to pay the price for acting on such feelings, we don’t have to act on them.
It may be hard, maybe even as hard as it was to stay clean in the beginning. But others have felt the same way and have found the freedom not to act on their negative impulses. By sharing about it and seeking the help of other recovering people and a Power greater than ourselves, we can find the direction, the support, and the strength we need to abstain from any destructive compulsion.
––––––––
Just for today: It’s okay to feel my feelings. With the help of my sponsor, my NA friends, and my Higher Power, I am free not to act out my negative feelings.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 10
Too busy
“We must use what we learn or we will lose it, no matter how long we have been clean.”
Basic Text, p. 85
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After putting some clean time together, some of us have a tendency to forget what our most important priority is. Once a week or less we say, “I’ve gotta get to a meeting tonight. It’s been...” We’ve been caught up in other things, important for sure, but no more so than our continued participation in Narcotics Anonymous.
It happens gradually. We get jobs. We reunite with our families. We’re raising children, the dog is sick, or we’re going to school at night. The house needs to be cleaned. The lawn needs to be mowed. We have to work late. We’re tired. There’s a good show at the theater tonight. And all of a sudden, we notice that we haven’t called our sponsor, been to a meeting, spoken to a newcomer, or even talked to God in quite a while.
What do we do at this point? Well, we either renew our commitment to our recovery, or we continue being too busy to recover until something happens and our lives become unmanageable. Quite a choice! Our best bet is to put more of our energy into maintaining the foundation of recovery on which our lives are built. That foundation makes everything else possible, and it will surely crumble if we get too busy with everything else.
––––––––
Just for today: I can’t afford to be too busy to recover. I will do something today that sustains my recovery.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Too busy
“We must use what we learn or we will lose it, no matter how long we have been clean.”
Basic Text, p. 85
––––––––
After putting some clean time together, some of us have a tendency to forget what our most important priority is. Once a week or less we say, “I’ve gotta get to a meeting tonight. It’s been...” We’ve been caught up in other things, important for sure, but no more so than our continued participation in Narcotics Anonymous.
It happens gradually. We get jobs. We reunite with our families. We’re raising children, the dog is sick, or we’re going to school at night. The house needs to be cleaned. The lawn needs to be mowed. We have to work late. We’re tired. There’s a good show at the theater tonight. And all of a sudden, we notice that we haven’t called our sponsor, been to a meeting, spoken to a newcomer, or even talked to God in quite a while.
What do we do at this point? Well, we either renew our commitment to our recovery, or we continue being too busy to recover until something happens and our lives become unmanageable. Quite a choice! Our best bet is to put more of our energy into maintaining the foundation of recovery on which our lives are built. That foundation makes everything else possible, and it will surely crumble if we get too busy with everything else.
––––––––
Just for today: I can’t afford to be too busy to recover. I will do something today that sustains my recovery.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 11
A closed mind
“A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind.... Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives.”
Basic Text, p. 96
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We arrived in NA at the lowest point in our lives. We’d just about run out of ideas. What we needed most when we got here were new ideas, new ways of living, shared from the experience of people who’d seen those ideas work. Yet our closed minds prevented us from taking in the very ideas we needed to live.
Denial keeps us from appreciating just how badly we really need new ideas and new direction. By admitting our powerlessness and recognizing how truly unmanageable our lives have become, we allow ourselves to see how much we need what NA has to offer.
Self-dependence and self-will can keep us from admitting even the possibility of the existence a Power greater than ourselves. However, when we admit the sorry state self-will has gotten us into, we open our eyes and our minds to new possibilities. When others tell us of a Power that has brought sanity to their lives, we begin to believe that such a Power may do the same for us.
A tree stripped of its branches will die unless new branches can be grafted onto its trunk. In the same way, addiction stripped us of whatever direction we had. To grow or even to survive, we must open our minds and allow new ideas to be grafted onto our lives.
––––––––
Just for today: I will ask my Higher Power to open my mind to the new ideas of recovery.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
A closed mind
“A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind.... Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives.”
Basic Text, p. 96
––––––––
We arrived in NA at the lowest point in our lives. We’d just about run out of ideas. What we needed most when we got here were new ideas, new ways of living, shared from the experience of people who’d seen those ideas work. Yet our closed minds prevented us from taking in the very ideas we needed to live.
Denial keeps us from appreciating just how badly we really need new ideas and new direction. By admitting our powerlessness and recognizing how truly unmanageable our lives have become, we allow ourselves to see how much we need what NA has to offer.
Self-dependence and self-will can keep us from admitting even the possibility of the existence a Power greater than ourselves. However, when we admit the sorry state self-will has gotten us into, we open our eyes and our minds to new possibilities. When others tell us of a Power that has brought sanity to their lives, we begin to believe that such a Power may do the same for us.
A tree stripped of its branches will die unless new branches can be grafted onto its trunk. In the same way, addiction stripped us of whatever direction we had. To grow or even to survive, we must open our minds and allow new ideas to be grafted onto our lives.
––––––––
Just for today: I will ask my Higher Power to open my mind to the new ideas of recovery.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 12
The big picture
“All spiritual awakenings have some things in common. Common elements include an end to loneliness and a sense of direction in our lives.”
Basic Text, p. 50
––––––––
Some kinds of spiritual experiences take place when we confront something larger than we are. We suspect that forces beyond our understanding are operating. We see a fleeting glimpse of the big picture and find humility in that moment.
Our journey through the Twelve Steps will bring about a spiritual experience of the same nature, only more profound and lasting. We undergo a continual process of ego-deflation, while at the same time we become more conscious of the larger perspective. Our view of the world expands to the point where we no longer possess an exaggerated sense of our own importance.
Through our new awareness, we no longer feel isolated from the rest of the human race. We may not understand why the world is the way it is or why people sometimes treat one another so savagely. But we do understand suffering and, in recovery, we can do our best to alleviate it. When our individual contribution is combined with others, we become an essential part of a grand design. We are connected at last.
––––––––
Just for today: I am but one person in the entire scheme of things. I humbly accept my place in the big picture.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The big picture
“All spiritual awakenings have some things in common. Common elements include an end to loneliness and a sense of direction in our lives.”
Basic Text, p. 50
––––––––
Some kinds of spiritual experiences take place when we confront something larger than we are. We suspect that forces beyond our understanding are operating. We see a fleeting glimpse of the big picture and find humility in that moment.
Our journey through the Twelve Steps will bring about a spiritual experience of the same nature, only more profound and lasting. We undergo a continual process of ego-deflation, while at the same time we become more conscious of the larger perspective. Our view of the world expands to the point where we no longer possess an exaggerated sense of our own importance.
Through our new awareness, we no longer feel isolated from the rest of the human race. We may not understand why the world is the way it is or why people sometimes treat one another so savagely. But we do understand suffering and, in recovery, we can do our best to alleviate it. When our individual contribution is combined with others, we become an essential part of a grand design. We are connected at last.
––––––––
Just for today: I am but one person in the entire scheme of things. I humbly accept my place in the big picture.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Re: Samo za Danas (Just for today)
April 13
People-pleasing
“...approval-seeking behavior carried us further into our addiction....”
Basic Text, p. 14
––––––––
When others approve of what we do or say, we feel good; when they disapprove, we feel bad. Their opinions of us, and how those opinions make us feel, can have positive value. By making us feel good about steering a straight course, they encourage us to continue doing so. “People-pleasing” is something else entirely. We “people-please” when we do things, right or wrong, solely to gain another person’s approval.
Low self-esteem can make us think we need someone else’s approval to feel okay about ourselves. We do whatever we think it will take to make them tell us we’re okay. We feel good for awhile. Then we start hurting. In trying to please another person, we’ve diminished ourselves and our values. We realize that the approval of others will not fill the emptiness inside us.
The inner satisfaction we seek can be found in doing the right things for the right reasons. We break the people-pleasing cycle when we stop acting merely to gain others’ approval and start acting on our Higher Power’s will for us. When we do, we may be pleasantly surprised to find that the people who really count in our lives will approve all the more of our behavior. Most importantly, though, we will approve of ourselves.
––––––––
Just for today: Higher Power, help me live in accordance with spiritual principles. Only then can I approve of myself.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
People-pleasing
“...approval-seeking behavior carried us further into our addiction....”
Basic Text, p. 14
––––––––
When others approve of what we do or say, we feel good; when they disapprove, we feel bad. Their opinions of us, and how those opinions make us feel, can have positive value. By making us feel good about steering a straight course, they encourage us to continue doing so. “People-pleasing” is something else entirely. We “people-please” when we do things, right or wrong, solely to gain another person’s approval.
Low self-esteem can make us think we need someone else’s approval to feel okay about ourselves. We do whatever we think it will take to make them tell us we’re okay. We feel good for awhile. Then we start hurting. In trying to please another person, we’ve diminished ourselves and our values. We realize that the approval of others will not fill the emptiness inside us.
The inner satisfaction we seek can be found in doing the right things for the right reasons. We break the people-pleasing cycle when we stop acting merely to gain others’ approval and start acting on our Higher Power’s will for us. When we do, we may be pleasantly surprised to find that the people who really count in our lives will approve all the more of our behavior. Most importantly, though, we will approve of ourselves.
––––––––
Just for today: Higher Power, help me live in accordance with spiritual principles. Only then can I approve of myself.
Copyright © 1991-2009 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved