Just For Today Meditations

[Chance]

June 28

Group conscience

"Working with others is only the beginning of service work."

Basic Text, p.56


Service work calls for a selfless devotion to carrying the message to the
still-suffering addict. But our attitude of service cannot stop there. Service
also requires that we look at ourselves and our motives. Our efforts at service make us highly visible to the fellowship. In NA, it is easy to become a "big fish in a little pond." Our controlling attitude can easily drive away the
newcomer.

Group conscience is one of the most important principles in service. It is vital
to remember that the group conscience is what counts, not just our individual beliefs and desires. We lend our thoughts and beliefs to the development of a group conscience. Then when that conscience arises, we accept its guidance. The key is working with others, not against them. If we remember that we strive together to develop a collective conscience, we will see that all sides have equal merit. When all the discussions are over, all sides will come back together to carry a unified message.

It is often tempting to think that we know what is best for the group. If we
remember that it doesn't matter if we get our way, then it is easier to allow
service to be the vehicle it is intended to be-a way to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.


Just for today: I will take part in the development of group conscience. I will remember that the world won't end just because I don't get my way. I will think about our primary purpose in all my service efforts. I will reach out to a newcomer.

pg. 186




Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©

[Chance]

June 29

Keeping recovery fresh

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

Basic Text, p.80


After the first couple of years in recovery, most of us start to feel like there
are no more big deals. If we've been diligent in working the steps, the past is
largely resolved and we have a solid foundation on which to build our future.
We've learned to take life pretty much as it comes. Familiarity with the steps
allows us to resolve problems almost as quickly as they arise.

Once we discover this level of comfort, we may tend to treat it as a "rest stop" on the recovery path. Doing so, however, discounts the nature of our disease. Addiction is patient, subtle, progressive, and incurable. It's also fatal-we can die from this disease, unless we continue to treat it. And the treatment for addiction is a vital, ongoing program of recovery.

The Twelve Steps are a process, a path we take to stay a step ahead of our
disease. Meetings, sponsorship, service, and the steps always remain essential to ongoing recovery. Though we may practice our program somewhat differently with five years clean than with five months, this doesn't mean the program has changed or become less important, only that our practical understanding has changed and grown. To keep our recovery fresh and vital, we need to stay alert for opportunities to practice our program.




Just for today: As I keep growing in my recovery, I will search for new ways to practice my program.

p. 187




Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©

[Chance]

June 30

Maintaining the foundation

"Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the future."

Basic Text p. 93


The foundation of our lives is what the rest of our lives is built upon. When we were using, that foundation affected everything we did. When we decided that recovery was important, that's where we began to put our energy. As a result, our whole lives changed. In order to maintain those new lives, we must maintain the foundation of those lives: our recovery program.

As we stay clean and our lifestyles change, our priorities will also change.
Work and school may become important because they improve the quality of our lives. And new relationships may bring excitement and mutual support. But we need to remember that our recovery program is the foundation upon which our new lives are built. Each day, we must renew our commitment to recovery, maintaining that as our top priority.


Just for today: I want to continue enjoying the life I've found in recovery.
Today, I will take steps to maintain my foundation.

pg. 188




Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©

[Chance]

July 1

A simple program

"The program is simply sharing, working the Twelve Steps, attending meetings, and practicing the principles of the program."
Basic Text, p.188


Our complicated lives can be made a lot less complicated if we concentrate on a few simple things-sharing our experience, strength, and hope with others, regular meeting attendance, and practicing the principles of the program in our daily lives.

By sharing our experience, strength, and hope with other addicts, we provide a powerful example for newcomers to follow. The effort we put into helping others also helps keep self centeredness, the core of our disease, at bay.

Many of us pick one group, a "home group," whose meetings we attend faithfully. This regularity gives some routine to our lives, and lets others know where they can find us if they need us.

Practicing the Twelve Steps in our daily lives makes the difference between a
balanced recovery and simply not using. The steps give us some much needed guidance in managing our everyday affairs.

Yes, we are complex people. But the NA program simplifies our lives, enabling us to live a life free from active addiction. Our lives can be filled with serenity
and hope when we live by the guidance of the simple principles of our program.


Just for today: I will remember that, while I am a complex person, NA is the simplest way for me to make my life less complicated.
pg. 191

Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©

[Chance]

July 2

Comparing

"Our personal stories may vary in individual pattern, but in the end we all
have the same thing in common."

Basic Text, p.84


We addicts are a varied bunch, coming from different backgrounds, having used different drugs, and recalling different experiences. Our differences don't disappear in recovery; for some, those differences become even more pronounced. Freedom from active addiction gives us the freedom to be ourselves, as we truly are. The fact that we are all recovering doesn't mean that we all necessarily have the same needs or goals. Each of us has our own lessons to learn in recovery.

With so many differences from one addict to the next, how do we help one another in recovery and how do we use each other's experience? We come together to share our lives in light of the principles of recovery. Though our lives are different, the spiritual principles we apply are the same. It is by the light of these principles, shining through our differences, that we illuminate one another's way on our individual paths.

We all have two things in common: addiction and recovery. When we listen
carefully, we hear others tell of suffering from the same disease we have
suffered from, regardless of their specific backgrounds. When we open our ears, we hear other addicts talk of applying spiritual principles that promise hope to us as well, regardless of our personal goals.


Just for today: I have my own path to follow, yet I'm grateful for the
fellowship of others who've suffered from addiction and who are learning to
apply the principles of recovery, just like me.

pg. 192




Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©

[Chance]

July 3

Quiet time

"Many of us have found that setting aside quiet time for ourselves is helpful in making conscious contact with our Higher Power." Basic Text, p.92


Most of us pay lip-service to the value of conscious contact with a Higher
Power. Yet how many of us consistently take time to improve that conscious
contact? If we've not already established a regular regimen of prayer and
meditation, today is the day to start one.

A "quiet time" need not be long. Many of us find that twenty to thirty minutes is enough time to quiet ourselves, focus our attention with a spiritual reading, share our thoughts and concerns in prayer, and take a few moments to listen for an answer in meditation. Our "quiet time" need not be lengthy to be effective, provided it is consistent. Twenty minutes taken once a month to pray will probably do little but frustrate us with the poor quality of our conscious contact. Twenty minutes taken regularly each day, however, renews and reinforces an already lively contact with our Higher Power.

In the hustle and bustle of the recovering addict's day, many of us end up going from morning to night without taking time out to improve our conscious contact with the God we've come to understand. However, if we set aside a particular time of the day, every day, as "quiet time," we can be sure that our conscious contact will improve.


Just for today: I will set aside a few moments, once I finish reading today's
entry, to pray and meditate. This will be the beginning of a new pattern for my
recovery.

pg. 193



Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©