NA JFT - APRIL 2014

[MajestyJo]

April 25

Embracing Reality

"Recovery is a reality for us today"

Basic Text, p. 97

Pain and misery were realities in our using lives. We were unwilling either to accept our living situation or to change what was unacceptable in our lives. We attempted to escape life's pain by taking drugs, but using only compounded our troubles. Our altered sense of reality became a nightmare.

Through living the program of Narcotics Anonymous, we learn that our dreams can replace our nightmares. We grow and change. We acquire the freedom of choice. We are able to give and receive love. We can share honestly about ourselves, no longer magnifying or minimizing the truth. We accept the challenges real life offers us, facing them in a mature, responsible way.

Although recovery does not give us immunity from the realities of life, in the NA Fellowship we can find the support, genuine care, and concern we need to face those realities. We need never hide from reality by using drugs again, for our unity with other recovering addicts gives us strength. Today the support, the care, and the empathy of recovery give us a clean, clear window through which to view, experience, and appreciate reality as it is.

Just for today: A gift of my recovery is living and enjoying life as it truly is. Today, I will embrace reality.

When I was 3 years sober, I was speaking to my french friend who came into recovery the same time as I did, but I had a few months more sober than he had, and I told him, "Reality sucks!" When he had 3 years, he phoned me and said, "You were right Jo, reality does suck."

You get a new awareness, and then you have to live with your conscience. I know what I need to do, but do I want to do it.