JFT March 18 - The Full Message

[margo]

"There is a special feeling for addicts when they discover that there are other people who share their difficulties, past and present."
Basic Text p. 53

The wealth of our recovery is too good to keep to ourselves. Some of us believe that when we talk in meetings, we should "remember the newcomer" and always try to carry a positive message. But sometimes the most positive message we can carry is that we are going through difficult times in our recovery and are staying clean in spite of them!

Yes, it's gratifying to send out a strong message of hope to our newer members. After all, no one likes a whiner. But distressing things happen, and life on life's terms can send shock waves even through the recovery of long-time members of Narcotics Anonymous. If we are equipped with the tools of the program, we can walk through such turmoil and stay clean to tell the tale.

Recovery doesn't happen all at once; it is an ongoing process, sometimes a struggle. When we dilute the fullness of our message by neglecting to share about the tough times we may walk through on our journey, we fail to allow newcomers the chance to see that they, too, can stay clean, no matter what. If we share the full message of our recovery, we may not know who benefits, but we can be sure someone will.

Just for today: I will honestly share both the good times and the difficult times of my recovery. I will remember that my experience in walking through adversity may benefit another member.
pg. 80

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

[Time2Surrender]

Thats a good one.When I first started going to NA I actually thought my life would be problem free as long as I was clean.Boy,was I ever wrong.But,thats what recovery is about for me.Learning how to live life on lifes terms.

[Roxann]

Originally Posted by Time2Surrender

When I first started going to NA I actually thought my life would be problem free as long as I was clean.

I did too. Wasn't I naive? The meeting I attended on Weds talked alot about the difficult aspects of recovery. I learned quite a bit from listening. I know that things are better for me now, and by knowing that yes, there WILL be hard times but I can make it through just as others before me have made it really helps. :hugs:

[Gooch]

Addicts sharing their experience, strength, and hope at meetings lets us hear the real deal, the good the bad, and the ugly.. ( ok the ugly is only when I share lol)

Took me years to realize that staying clean in and of itself wasn't a magic solution or that it could make my problems dissapear. But that the staying clean part did make it possible for me to learn how to process my feelings and face my dilemmas by listening to the more experienced members share what did and didn't work for them, and then trying to apply the principles to my own life.