Welcome to the Central Coast Area of Narcotics Anonymous
Serving: Paso Robles, Cambria, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, Lompoc
Just for today daily meditation
Things can get really good in our recovery. Perhaps we've found our "soul mate," built a rewarding career, started a family. Maybe our relationships with our family members have healed. Things are going so well, we barely have time to attend meetings. Perhaps we begin to reintegrate into society so successfully that we forget that we don't always react to situations like others do.
Maybe, just maybe, we've put some priorities ahead of themselves. Is meeting attendance still a priority with us? Do we still sponsor? Do we phone our sponsor? What step are we working? Are we still willing to drag ourselves out of bed at some ungodly hour for a Twelfth Step call? Do we remember to practice principles in all our affairs? If others in NA reach out to us, are we available? Do we remember where we came from, or have the "good times" allowed us to forget?
To stay clean, we must remember that we are only one drug away from our past. We stay grateful for the good times, but we don't let them divert us from our continuing recovery in Narcotics Anonymous.
A Spiritual principle a day
If honesty really is a commitment to reality, then we addicts definitely need help in this arena. Many of us gamed reality for as long as we can remember. A member shared, "We tend to not see things as they are. We see them as we are." Often our version of the past isn't necessarily reliable. Today we can be confused about how much to say that's on our minds and who to say it to--and then end up oversharing or being needlessly brutal in our truth-telling.
By working the Twelve Steps, we address our past and present commitment to reality. Through that process, one truth becomes apparent: No matter how hard we try, we can't make something true that isn't. Denial can be fierce and keep us running for years, but ultimately, it's not more powerful than reality. The member quipped, "Reality will always catch up with you. Hopefully it's just your spouse, a government agency, or a pair of handcuffs, not the morgue."
We carry our commitment to reality with us as home-group members and in service. Tradition One tells us to consider NA's common welfare, not just our own. Our commitment to reality can be complicated by having to consider the realities of our fellow group members. Does this mean then that we'll all have the same perspective on how to put our common welfare first? In a word, no. But what we can do is stay committed to spiritual principles in our group work.
There will be communication problems and differences of opinion. We can start by being real about that and accepting our responsibility as committed NA members to face these challenges. As individuals, we can commit to admitting when we're wrong or when we don't know something. We can be candid about caring deeply about the outcome of a particular decision. We can be real about the fact that we don't remember every single detail about the past and we can't predict the future.
When we can make an honest self-assessment and realize that our self-centeredness is working against our desire to serve, then we have taken a great step toward shedding our denial and embracing reality.
WHAT IS THE NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS PROGRAM?
NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. We suggest that you keep an open mind and give yourself a break. Our program is a set of principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing about them is that they work.
For more information on Narcotics Anonymous,
please go to the:
Narcotics Anonymous World Services Website,
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