Narcotics Anonymous

Just For Today - Daily Email Service

   April 9                                                         Acting out

     "We learn to experience feelings and realize they can do us no harm
                           unless we act on them."

                                                  IP No. 16, For the Newcomer

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   Many of us came to Narcotics Anonymous with something less than an
   overwhelming desire to stop using.   Sure, the drugs were causing us
   problems, and we wanted to be rid of the problems, but we didn't want to
   stop getting high.  Eventually, though, we saw that we couldn't have one
   without the other.   Even though we really wanted to get loaded, we
   didn't use; we weren't willing to pay the price anymore.  The longer
   we stayed clean and worked the program, the more freedom we experienced.
   Sooner or later, the compulsion to use was lifted from us completely, and
   we stayed clean because we wanted to live clean.

   The same principles apply to other negative impulses that may plague us.
   We may feel like doing something destructive, just because we want to.
   We've done it before, and sometimes we think we've gotten away with
   it, but sometimes we haven't.  If we're not willing to pay the price
   for acting on such feelings, we don't have to act on them.

   It may be hard, maybe even as hard as it was to stay clean in the
   beginning.  But others have felt the same way and have found the freedom
   not to act on their negative impulses.  By sharing about it and seeking
   the help of other recovering people and a Power greater than ourselves, we
   can find the direction, the support, and the strength we need to abstain
   from any destructive compulsion.

                           ----=----

   Just for today:   It's okay to feel my feelings.  With the help of my
   sponsor, my NA friends, and my Higher Power, I am free not to act out my
   negative feelings.