Narcotics Anonymous offers only one promise and that is freedom from active addiction, the solution that eluded us for so long.
Basic Text, p. 106
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NA offers no promises other than freedom from active addiction. It is true that some of our members meet with financial success in recovery. They buy nice houses, drive new cars, wear fine clothes, and form beautiful families. These outward signs of prosperity are not the lot of all of our members, however. A great many of us never achieve financial success. This does not necessarily reflect on the quality of our recovery.
When we are tempted to compare ourselves to these other, seemingly more affluent members, it is good to remember why we came to the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous. We came because our lives had fallen down around us. We were emotionally, physically, and spiritually defeated. Our Basic Text reminds us that in desperation we sought help from each other in Narcotics Anonymous. We came because we were beaten.
For addicts, even one day clean is a miracle. When we remember why we came to Narcotics Anonymous and in what condition we arrived, we realize that material wealth pales in comparison to the spiritual riches we have gained in recovery.
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Just for today: I have been given a spiritual gift greater than material wealth: my recovery. I will thank the God of my understanding for my freedom from active addiction.
I find this solitary promise so misleading. I am not suggesting that it is intentional, but I do believe that most people who read this for the first time interpret this to mean that we can stop using drugs. This much is true but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Any addict who has been in recovery for a while will tell the newcomer that a relapse happens long before you pick up that first drug. Relapse begins in our heads and hearts. Too, we are told that drugs are but a symptom of our problem. If our problem is addiction and drugs are simply a symptom of that addiction - then freedom from active addiction must address the problem, not the symptom. The NA program, worked rigorously, allows us freedom from addiction - not just drugs.
I know NA gave me what they said , freedom from my addiction.I remember when I thought one day clean would be a miracle , then one month, Never dreamed I would be 5 months and 6 weeks from ten years clean, Thank you NA .
