Narcotics Anonymous

Just For Today - Daily Email Service

   August 21                                                      Friendships

    "Our friendships become deep, and we experience the warmth and caring
         which results from addicts sharing recovery and a new life."

                                                   IP No. 19, Self-Acceptance

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   Most of us come to Narcotics Anonymous with few genuine friends.  And most
   of us arrive without the slightest understanding of what it takes to build
   lasting friendships.  Over time, though, we learn that friendships require
   work.  At one time or another, all friendships are challenging.  Like any
   relationship, friendship is a learning process.

   Our friends love us enough to tell us the truth about ourselves.  The old
   saying, "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you
   furious," seems especially true in  friendship.    This can  make
   friendships awkward.   We may find ourselves avoiding certain meetings
   rather than facing our friends.  We have found, though, that friends speak
   out of concern for us.  They want the best for us.  Our friends accept us
   despite our shortcomings.   They understand that we are still a work in
   progress.

   Friends are there for us when we're not there for ourselves.   Friends
   help us gain valuable perspective on the events in our lives and our
   recovery.  It is important that we actively cultivate friendships, for we
   have learned that we cannot recover alone.

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   Just for today:  I will be grateful for the friends I have.  I will take
   an active part in my friendships.