" We feared that if we ever revealed ourselves as we were, we would surely be rejected.... [But] our fellow members do understand us."
Basic Text, p. 31
We need our fellow NA members-their experience, their friendship, their laughter, their guidance, and much, much more. Yet many of us hesitate to call our sponsor or visit our NA friends. We don't want to impose on them. We think about phoning someone, but we don't feel worthy of their time. We fear that if they ever got to know us-really know us-they'd surely reject us.
We forget that our fellow NA members are just like us. There's nothing we've done, no place we've been, no feeling we've felt that other recovering addicts won't be able to identify with. The more we let others get to know us, the more we'll hear, "You're in the right place. You're among friends. You belong. Welcome!"
We also forget that, just as we need others, they need us. We're not the only ones who want to feel like we belong, who want to experience the warmth of friendship, who want someone to share with. If we isolate ourselves from our fellow members, we deprive them of something they need, something only we can give them: our time, our company, our true selves.
In Narcotics Anonymous, recovering addicts care for one another. What waits at the other end of the telephone is not rejection, but the love, warmth, and identification of the NA Fellowship. Make that call!
Just for today: In NA, I am among friends. I will reach out to others, giving and receiving in fellowship.
Yesterday morning, after reading this JFT Topic, for once, I decided to open my mind and become willing to try out the suggestion in the topic.
I called one of my rehab buddies from down the years, who is also an on-and-off homegroup member at my hometown. He is just out of rehab again, 5 months clean now, and I was not able to take a couple of calls from him last week.
I was amazed by what I talked with him, and in the process of giving away what I had, I realized that I ended up getting what I needed at this particular juncture in my life. So grateful for the JFT Topic and to this NA friend of mine and the conversation I had with him that made my day...
It Works, if I open my mind and be willing enough to work it...
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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.
, I decided to open my mind and become willing to try out the suggestion in the topic. 
