Just For Today Meditations December 20 & 21

[Chance]

I apologize for the delay but I have been without Internet Service since late on the 19th. Here is the two days of readings.

Overcoming self-obsession

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

Basic Text p.94


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.

pg. 370





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

Acceptance to Change

"Freedom to change seems to come after acceptance of ourselves."

Basic Text p.56


Fear and denial are the opposites of acceptance. None of us are
perfect, even in our own eyes; all of us have certain traits that, given the
chance, we would like to change. We sometimes become overwhelmed when
contemplating how far short we fall of our ideals, so overwhelmed that we
fear there's no chance of becoming the people we'd like to be. That's
when our defense mechanism of denial kicks in, taking us to the opposite
extreme: nothing about ourselves needs changing, we tell ourselves, so
why worry? Neither extreme gives us the freedom to change.

Whether we are long-time NA members or new to recovery, the freedom to
change is acquired by working the Twelve Steps. When we admit our
powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives, we counteract the lie
that says we don't have to change. In coming to believe that a Power
greater than we are can help us, we lose our fear that we are damaged
beyond repair; we come to believe we can change. We turn ourselves over to
the care of the God of our understanding and tap the strength we need to
make a thorough, honest examination of ourselves. We admit to God, to
ourselves, and to another human being what we've found. We accept the
good and the bad in ourselves; with this acceptance, we become free to
change.


Just for today: I want to change. By working the steps, I will counter
fear and denial and find the acceptance needed to change.

pg. 371





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