JFT October 30

[REZ]

October 30


Courage

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

Basic Text, p. 96

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Narcotics Anonymous is no place for the faint of heart! Facing life on life’s terms without the use of drugs isn’t always easy. Recovery requires more than hard work; it requires a liberal dose of courage.

What is courage, anyway? A quick look at a dictionary will tell us. We have courage when we face and deal with anything that we think of as difficult, dangerous, or painful, rather than withdrawing from it. Courage means being brave; having a purpose; having spirit. So what is courage, really? Courage is an attitude, one of perseverance.

That’s what an addict in recovery really needs—perseverance. We make that commitment to stick with our program, to avoid using, no matter what happens. A courageous addict is one who doesn’t use, one day at a time, no matter what.

And what gives us courage? A relationship with a Higher Power gives us the strength and the courage to stay clean. We know that, so long as we are in our God’s care, we will have the power we need to face life on its own terms.

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Just for today: I have a Higher Power who cares for me, no matter what. Knowing that, I will strive to have an attitude of courage today.

[REZ]

In the past, drugs were my source of "courage", because I used drugs to escape my problems. But the drugs stopped working and my problems got worse. Today, I can rely on my higher power, the steps, and the NA fellowship to give me the courage to deal with life on life's terms.

[Gmoney]

That’s what an addict in recovery really needs—perseverance. We make that commitment to stick with our program, to avoid using, no matter what happens. A courageous addict is one who doesn’t use, one day at a time, no matter what.

That's what I'm talking about!!

[jane_668]

This is a great a reading. I keep reading it again and again when I'm down or scared. It gives me the strength and push I need to carry on in my recovery.

Narcotics Anonymous is no place for the faint of heart! Facing life on life’s terms without the use of drugs isn’t always easy. Recovery requires more than hard work; it requires a liberal dose of courage.

Sometimes it's not enough to be doing our step work , we need more than hard work;we need courage. I try to remember this as I grow daily in this program. In the first 6o days clean, I avoided people because I felt uncomofrtable.I literally withdrew from life and concentrated on going to meetings only and talking to recovering addicts.Now with 105 days clean, gradually going back to my old life. This is extremely uncomfortable to me. Many days all I want to do is runaway and hide alone somewhere. I've numbed my feelings for 8 years and now any feelings ,good or bad, are confusing to me. There are days when I hang out with friends and leave suddenly crying for no obvious reason. All my friends in recovery told me that I should be happy because I'm feeling again. They said at the beginning it will be painful. So to get through that discomfort, I need courage..

Courage means being brave; having a purpose; having spirit. So what is courage, really? Courage is an attitude, one of perseverance.

I have hope today that I can make it just like the other addicts with years of clean time in the rooms.They all started in a similar situation and somehow found the courage they needed to change their lives. Today, I am growing emotionally and it's very painful but I know that at least the pain in recovery yields freedom from slavery where as pain in using yields more pain.