"We learn to experience feelings and realize they can do us no harm unless we act on them."
IP No. 16, "For the Newcomer"
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.
pg. 103
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God is the only one you can depend on in recovery.
I sincerely needed this today. I woke up to an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. Not sure why this is but it is there. I find at times these "feelings" just creep in and can take over if you let them. I depend on the foundation that this program brings when having doubt or anxiety about ANYTHING. I am grateful that I can now identify with these feelings and not act on the compulsion they can sometimes bring to you when least expected.
Thanks for being there on my "anxiety filled Wednesday"
Good one and boy does that describe my acting out in anger yelling and screaming and the tantrums I USED to act out and asked for help with and everyones support has helped me to get a lot better with it all. That acting out was as destructive as my using.
I hear ya Vinnie, I have to hold myself back often. It really does help me to get all of those angry thoughts out of my head first thing in the morning. I am in PNG right now. I get really impatient & angry with things that go slow and not just right around here. It always makes things worse. I am trying to use that energy to do something good rather than upset a bunch of people for no good reason other than acting out my petty anger.
kenh
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God is the only one you can depend on in recovery.
Thank you so much Ken H for posting this meditation topic. Just what I needed now. I pray to my Higher Power to provide me with the willingness and strength to not act out on my obsessions and defects of character, and to make use of the principles that the 12 Steps of NA has brought into my life instead.
Wish you all a clean and serene day of recovery Just For Today
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.
