Narcotics Anonymous

Just For Today - Daily Email Service

   October 4                                                Thirty-day wonder

   "When we first begin to enjoy relief from our addiction, we run the risk
   of assuming control of our lives again.  We forget the agony and pain that
                               we have known."

                                                            Basic Text, p. 50

                           ----=----

   Many of us have been "thirty-day wonders."  We were desperate and
   dying when we showed up at our first NA meeting.  We identified with the
   addicts we met there and the message they shared.  With their support, we
   were finally able to stop using and catch a free breath.  For the first
   time in a long, long time, we felt at home.   Overnight, our lives were
   transformed; we walked, talked, ate, drank, slept, and dreamed Narcotics
   Anonymous.

   Then, Narcotics Anonymous lost its novelty.   Meetings that had been a
   thrill became monotonous.   Our wonderful NA  friends became bores;  their
   uplifting NA talk, drivel.   When our former friends called, inviting us
   back for some of the old fun, we kissed our recovery goodbye.

   Sooner or later, we made our way back to the rooms of Narcotics
   Anonymous.  Nothing had changed out there, we'd discovered-not us, not
   our friends, not the drugs, not anything.   If anything, it had gotten
   worse than ever.

   True, NA meetings may not be a laugh riot, and our NA friends may not be
   spiritual giants.  But there's a power in the meetings, a common bond
   among the members, a life to the program that we can't do without.
   Today, our recovery is more than just a fad-it's a way of life.
   We're going to practice living our program like our lives depend on it,
   because they do.

                           ----=----

   Just for today:  I'm no "thirty-day wonder." The NA way is my way
   of life, and I'm here for the duration.