Narcotics Anonymous

Just For Today - Daily Email Service

   March 22                                     The principle of self-support

    "In our addiction, we were dependent upon people, places, and things.
   We looked to them to support us and supply the things we found lacking in
                                 ourselves."

                                                        Basic Text, pp. 70-71

                           ----=----

   In the animal kingdom, there is a creature that thrives on others.  It is
   called a leech.  It attaches itself to people and takes what it needs.
   When one victim brushes the leech off, it simply goes to the next.

   In our active addiction, we behaved similarly.  We drained our families,
   our friends, and our communities.  Consciously or unconsciously, we sought
   to get something for nothing from virtually everyone we encountered.

   When we saw the basket passed at our first meeting we may have thought,
   "Self-support!  Now what kind of odd notion is this?" As we watched,
   we noticed something.  These self-supporting addicts were free.  By paying
   their own way, they had earned the privilege of making their own
   decisions.

   By applying the principle of self-support in our personal lives, we gain
   for ourselves the same kind of freedom.  No longer does anyone have the
   right to tell us where to live, because we pay our own rent.  We can eat,
   wear, or drive whatever we choose, because we provide it for ourselves.

   Unlike the leech, we don't have to depend on others for our sustenance.
   The more responsibility we assume, the more freedom we'll gain.

                           ----=----

   Just for today:   There are no limits to the freedom I can earn by
   supporting myself.  I will accept personal responsibility and pay my own
   way today.