Today's Reading from Just For Today © NA World Services
April 7 The value of the past
"This firsthand experience in all phases of illness and recovery is of
unparalleled therapeutic value. We are here to share it freely with any
addict who wants to recover."
Basic Text, p. 10
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Most of us came into the program with some serious regrets. We had never
finished high school, or we had missed going to college. We had destroyed
friendships and marriages. We had lost jobs. And we knew that we
couldn't change any of it. We may have thought that we'd always be
regretful and simply have to find a way to live with our regrets.
On the contrary, we find that our past represents an untapped gold mine
the first time we are called on to share it with a struggling newcomer.
As we listen to someone share their Fifth Step with us, we can give a
special form of comfort that no one else could provide-our own
experience. We've done the same things. We've had the same feelings
of shame and remorse. We've suffered in the ways only an addict can
suffer. We can relate-and so can they.
Our past is valuable-in fact, priceless-because we can use all of it
to help the addict who still suffers. Our Higher Power can work through
us when we share our past. That possibility is why we are here, and its
fulfillment is the most important goal we have to accomplish.
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Just for today: I no longer regret my past because, with it, I can share
with other addicts, perhaps averting the pain or even death of another.
