Narcotics Anonymous

Just For Today - Daily Email Service

   March 11                                               Lightening the load

    "It will not make us better people to judge the faults of another.  It
              will make us feel better to clean up our lives..."

                                                            Basic Text, p. 38

                           ----=----

   Sometimes we need something tangible to help us understand what holding a
   resentment is doing to us.   We may not be aware of how destructive
   resentments actually are.   We think, "So what, I have a right to be
   angry," or, "I might be nursing a grudge or two, but I don't see the
   harm."

   To see more clearly the effect that holding resentments is having in our
   lives, we might try imagining that we are carrying a rock for each
   resentment.  A small grudge, such as anger at someone driving badly, might
   be represented by a pebble.  Harboring ill will toward an entire group of
   people might be represented by a enormous boulder.  If we actually had to
   carry stones for each resentment, we would surely tire of the weight.   In
   fact, the more cumbersome our burden, the more sincere our efforts to
   unload it would be.

   The weight of our resentments hinders our spiritual development.  If we
   truly desire freedom, we will seek to rid ourselves of as much extra
   weight as possible.  As we lighten up, we'll notice an increased ability
   to forgive our fellow human beings for their mistakes, and to forgive
   ourselves for our own.   We'll nourish our spirits with good thoughts,
   kind words, and service to others.

                           ----=----

   Just for today:   I will seek to have the burden of resentments removed
   from my spirit.