Just for Today

[MajestyJo]

December 16
Where There's Smoke...

"Complacency is the enemy of members with substantial clean time. If we remain complacent for long, the recovery process ceases."

Basic Text pg. 80

Recognizing complacency in our recovery is like seeing smoke in a room. The "smoke" thickens when our meeting attendance drops, contact with newcomers decreases, or relations with our sponsor aren't maintained. With continued complacency; we won't be able to see through the smoke to find our way out. Only our immediate response will prevent an inferno.

We must learn to recognize the smoke of complacency. In NA, we have all the help We need to do that. We need to spend time with other recovering addicts because they may detect our complacency before we do. Newcomers will remind us of how painful active addiction can be. Our sponsor will help us remain focused, and recovery literature kept in easy reach can be used to extinguish the small flare-ups that happen from time to time. Regular participation in our recovery will surely enable us to see that wisp of smoke long before it becomes a major inferno.

Just for today: I will participate in the full range of my recovery; My commitment to NA is just as strong today as it was in the beginning of my recovery.

pg. 366

No way I could be complacent today, too many things got my attention. First off was hitting red lights going down main street, then we thought it was an accident, and when we got to the hold up, we saw the police had blocked John street and there was yellow ticker tape all around the court and there were a lot of police cars. Never did listen to the news to see what happened. Then I got to my group and got to chair the meeting. What do I do, forget the announcements and had to be reminded.

When I got home, I got attacked by a bout of fatigue, and I tried to come on line and combat it, but just had to go to bed. Tonight, when I went to take burgers out of the freezer, the lid fell on my arm, tore some skin and badly bruised it. I realized how much fear I had been carrying around since the put me on a blood thinner. Every time I moved my arm, it would start bleeding again. I had been thinking of my friend Theresa before I went to sleep today, but didn't call her. Seeing as I had to sit still and put pressure on my arm, I decided to call her only to find she had been thinking of me. She didn't call because she figured I would be sleeping, and I was.

I had two load of laundry to do. I got it done, but it was really pushing it. I finally had to ask my son for help to banadage my arm, I couldn't do it myself.

This is a one day at a time program. All things that happened to me would have been a reason to pick up. For me to use is to die, each day I have to find another option. I am so grateful for the tools of the program that help me to deal with life on life's terms.

[MajestyJo]

December 20, 2016

Overcoming self-obsession

Page 370

"In living the steps, we begin to let go of our self-obsession."

Basic Text, p.97

Many of us came to the program convinced that our feelings, our wants, and our needs were of the utmost importance to everyone. We had practiced a lifetime of self-seeking, self-centered behavior and believed it was the only way to live.

That self-centeredness doesn't cease just because we stop using drugs. Perhaps we attend our first NA function and are positive that everyone in the room is watching us, judging us, and condemning us. We may demand that our sponsor be on call to listen to us whenever we want-and they, in turn, may gently suggest that the world does not revolve around us. The more we insist on being the center of the universe, the less satisfied we will be with our friends, our sponsor, and everything else.

Freedom from self-obsession can be found through concentrating more on the needs of others and less on our own. When others have problems, we can offer help. When newcomers need rides to meetings, we can pick them up. When friends are lonely, we can spend time with them. When we find ourselves feeling unloved or ignored, we can offer the love and attention we need to someone else. In giving, we receive much more in return-and that's a promise we can trust.

Just for Today: I will share the world with others, knowing they are just as important as I am. I will nourish my spirit by giving of myself.

In order to recover, I need to share my experience, strength, and hope. If I don't share it with others, it will shrivel up and die. The Spirit will go out of the blessings I receive as a result of working the Steps, because I will be back in my ISMs, I Self, and Me.

[MajestyJo]

December 23, 2016

New Ideas

Page 373

"We reevaluate our old ideas so we can become acquainted with the new ideas that lead to a new way of life."

Basic Text, p.94

Learning to live a new way of life can be difficult. Sometimes, when the going gets especially hard, we're tempted to follow the path of least resistance and live by our old ideas again. We forget that our old ideas were killing us. To live a new way of life, we need to open our minds to new ideas.

Working the steps, attending meetings, sharing with others, trusting a sponsor - these suggestions may meet our resistance, even our rebellion. The NA program requires effort, but each step in the program brings us closer to becoming the kinds of people we truly want to be. We want to change, to grow, to become something more than we are today. To do that, we open our minds, try on the new ideas we've found in NA, and learn to live a new way of life.

Just for Today: I will open my mind to new ideas and learn to live my life in a new way.

Last night I was speaking to my spiritual advisor and was advised to change my thinking and thought patterns when I was praying. Indeed food for thought. A topic comes up until the lessn finally sinks in. A person at my home group keeps putting "open minded" on the topic list and every one was sick and tired of talking about it, me included.

[MajestyJo]

Here is the link for the daily reading:

www.jftna.org/jft/

These readings are also included in the Daily Readings at the top of the forum.

[MajestyJo]

January 01, 2017

Vigilance

Page 1

"We keep what we have only with vigilance..."

Basic Text, p. 60

How do we remain vigilant about our recovery? First, by realizing that we have a disease we will always have. No matter how long we've been clean, no matter how much better our lives have become, no matter what the extent of our spiritual healing, we are still addicts. Our disease waits patiently, ready to spring the trap if we give it the opportunity.

Vigilance is a daily accomplishment. We strive to be constantly alert and ready to deal with signs of trouble. Not that we should live in irrational fear that something horrible will possess us if we drop our guard for an instant; we just take normal precautions. Daily prayer, regular meeting attendance, and choosing not to compromise spiritual principles for the easier way are acts of vigilance. We take inventory as necessary, share with others whenever we are asked, and carefully nurture our recovery. Above all, we stay aware!

We have a daily reprieve from our addiction as long as we remain vigilant. Each day, we carry the principles of recovery into all that we do, and each night, we thank our Higher Power for another day clean.

Just for Today: I will be vigilant, doing everything necessary to guard my recovery.

[MajestyJo]

NA Just For Today

January 4

The Love of the Fellowship

"Today secure in the love of the fellowship, we can finally look another human being in the eye and be grateful for who we are."
Basic Text p. 89

When we were using, few of us could tolerate looking someone in the eye-we were ashamed of who we were. Our minds were not occupied with anything decent or healthy, and we knew it. Our time, money, and energy weren't spent building loving relationships, sharing with others, or seeking to better our communities. We were trapped in a spiral of obsession and compulsion that went only in one direction: downward.

In recovery, our journey down that spiral path has been cut short. But what is it that has turned us around, drawing us back upward into the open spaces of the wide, free world? The love of the fellowship has done this.

In the company of other addicts, we knew we would not be rejected. By the example of other addicts, we were shown how to begin taking a positive part in the life around us. When we were unsure which way to turn, when we stumbled, when we had to correct a wrong we had done, we knew our fellow members were there to encourage us.

Slowly, we've gotten the feel of our freedom. No longer are we locked up in our disease; we are free to build and grow and share along with everyone else. And when we need support to take our next step, it is there. The security we've found in the love of the fellowship has made our new lives possible.

Just for today: I can look anyone in the eye without shame. I am grateful for the loving support that has made this possible.

The people in the rooms loved me back to good health. They loved me until I could love myself.

[MajestyJo]

January 20, 2017

One promise, many gifts

Page 20

"Narcotics Anonymous offers only one promise, and that is freedom from active addiction..."

Basic Text, p. 106

Imagine how it might be if we had arrived at the doors of Narcotics Anonymous, desperate, wanting to stop using drugs, only to be met by a sales pitch: "If you just work the steps and don't use drugs, you'll get married, live in the suburbs, have 2.6 children, and start wearing polyester. You will become a responsible, productive member of society and be fit company for kings and presidents. You will be rich and have a dynamic career." Most of us, greeted with such a heavy-handed spiel, would have shrieked and bolted for the door.

Instead of high-pressure nonsense and frightening predictions, we are greeted with a promise of hope: freedom from active addiction. We feel a blessed relief come over us when we hear that we never have to use drugs again. We aren't going to be forced to become anything!

Of course, after some time in recovery, good things start happening in our lives. We are given gifts-spiritual gifts, material gifts, gifts that we've always dreamed of but never dared hope we'd get. These, however, are truly gifts-they are not promised to us just because we become NA members. All we are promised is freedom from addiction-and it's more than enough!

Just for Today: I have been promised freedom from active addiction. The gifts I receive are the benefits of recovery.

The one gift alone is priceless. The Dolphin means manna. I look at it as food for the soul.

[MajestyJo]

NA Just For Today

Anxiety Attack?

"[The] Power that brought us to this program is still with us and will continue to guide us if we allow it."
Basic Text, p. 26

Ever had a panic attack? Everywhere we turn, life's demands overwhelm us. We're paralyzed, and we don't know what to do about it. How do we break an anxiety attack?

First, we stop. We can't deal with everything at once, so we stop for a moment to let things settle. Then we take a "spot inventory" of the things that are bothering us. We examine each item, asking ourselves this question: "How important is it, really?" In most cases, we'll find that most of our fears and concerns don't need our immediate attention. We can put those aside, and focus on the issues that really need to be resolved right away. Then we stop again and ask ourselves, "Who's in control here, anyway?" This helps remind us that our Higher Power is in control.

We seek our Higher Power's will for the situation, whatever it is. We can do this in any number of ways: through prayer, talks with our sponsor or NA friends, or by attending a meeting and asking others to share their experience. When our Higher Power's will becomes clear to us, we pray for the ability to carry it out. Finally, we take action.

Anxiety attacks need not paralyze us. We can utilize the resources of the NA program to deal with anything that comes our way.

Just for today: My Higher Power has not brought me all this way in recovery only to abandon me! When anxiety strikes, I will take specific steps to seek God's continuing care and guidance.

When I heard people talking about anxiety attacks, I thought they where a bunch of whooses. Then when I learned to listen and learn, I realized that the pot was calling the kettle black. I had gone into grocery stores and left my buggy in the middle of the aisle and got off the bus if it got too noisy and crowded. I heard how they felt, I too had the tightening in my chest and my brain stopped working. As I learned to apply the program, it seldom happened to me. When it does, I do the deep breathing and pray and ask for help. I had to do that last night when the AA meeting got too noisy before it started.

It didn't help that two guys I didn't know who said they thought they knew me came up to me. One was from NA, but he didn't have the right name of the meeting for the church he mentioned. I had heard the name and had been to the meeting. The other one asked if I had gone to school in Hamilton. I didn't come to Hamilton until I was 17. I had been to a lot of east end meetings. He said he had 33 years in recovery and chaired the meeting. His group was in Stoney Creek and it was a meeting that I always felt worse after the meeting than I did before. I think it was the low ceiling and tiles, as well as the energy from the people in the group. I didn't go there unless it was for their group anniversary and I could get a ride. People knew me from different groups, I went to many, but didn't know all the people there.

[MajestyJo]

NA Just For Today

God - Centeredness

"Gradually as we become more God-centered than self-centered, our despair turns to hope."
Basic Text p. 92

What a glorious thing to have hope! Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we were destined to die from our disease.

Many members speak of being on a "pink cloud" their first months in the program. We've stopped using, made some friends, and life looks promising. Things are going great. Then reality sets in. Life is still life—we still lose jobs, our partners still leave us, friends still die, we still get sick. Abstinence is no guarantee that life will always go our way.

When the reality of life on its own terms sets in, we turn to our Higher Power and remember that life happens the way life happens. But no matter what occurs in our recovery we need not despair, for there is always hope. That hope lies in our relationship with our Higher Power.

This relationship, as expressed by the thought in our text, develops over time: "Gradually we become more God-centered." As we rely more and more on the strength of our Higher Power, life's struggles don't have to drag us into the sea of despair. As we focus more on God, we focus less on ourselves.

Just for today: I will rely on my Higher Power. I will accept that, regardless of what happens, my Higher Power will provide me with the resources to live with it.

I was "I" centered all of my life. As a sponsee once said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to listen to my Higher Power in today. I listened to my Lower Power all of my life.

[MajestyJo]

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