Grey Book Reflection
Through the freedom in our new lives we are finally able to see the special qualities that we possess as individuals
Gray Book, p. 161 (Chapter Ten, Lines 2-4)
In Narcotics Anonymous one of the people we will meet, will be ourselves. After hitting our bottoms, we weren't too happy to see what we have become. Now Abstinent, we feel all our feelings, and most were guilt, shame, and remorse.
Most of us didn't like ourselves, and now we get to face it. Living with ourselves without the use of drugs was even more painful, we no longer had the drugs to numb us. N.A. does not only offer Abstinence from drugs, it also offers Freedom from the obsession to use, and it offers a New Way to Live through the Spiritual Awakening we experience from Living each Step. This Awakening of the Spirit allows us to nurture the person we were meant to be all along. This Process is over time and not overnight, and at times our pain requires Total Surrender.
There's Freedom contained in each Spiritual Principle. Freedom from active addiction, Freedom from self, Freedom from others, and Freedom from the world at large. We no longer need the masks; we no longer had to be the people others wanted us to be.
We finally could be ourselves and be okay with that. We're a work in Progress. We're still not the person God knows we could be.
We're still not the person we want to be. We're the person we are supposed to be right here, right now.
With the Help of the God Of Our Understanding, our Sponsors, the Steps, and the Fellowship of N.A., this transformation is possible, Just For Today. We see ourselves realistically, with our liabilities and our Assets. We Surrender to this Process and receive Self-Acceptance and Acceptance of others.
We learn to Live in our own skins; we get glimpses of the people we could one day be. Today there's Hope.
We don't only have Self-Acceptance, but we also Accept what we are lacking, we also develop Compassion for ourselves and others.