7 September

Ask ourselves, what does Recovery in Narcotics Anonymous mean to us? Many of us would say that it saved our Lives, some would say that they stopped hurting.

Many would say that we got our Families back. Some of us would say that we became employable, we were able to become financially successful. Some would say that we finished school, and became productive members of society. Although some of these things are True, that's not what our Recovery should be about, those are just symptoms of staying Clean.

Nothing ever seemed to fill the void/emptiness inside of us. In N.A. we Learn to Live in a New Way.

By working and Living the Steps and Traditions we allow ourselves to Change and Grow. For this we needed the Help of God As We Understood Him and the Help of other addicts. By staying in contact with the N.A. Program, fellow addicts and our Higher Power, we're capable of a Transformation We move from using to Helping ourselves and others, from isolation to Fellowshipping and from emptiness to Fulfillment.

One of the most important aspects of Recovery is that our Spirits Awaken. We're able and capable of seeking a Relationship with a God Of Our Own Understanding. We're able with the Help of the Steps, the Fellowship, our Sponsors, and our Higher Power to change from our old ways.

We're able and capable to Amend the wreckage of the past. We find a New Way To Live without the use of drugs and to incorporate Spiritual Principles in our Lives. We are then able to Share this Precious Gift with all those that seek it.

Yes our Recovery is more than just about us and material gain. We find ourselves through the Process of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Then, we lose ourselves through Service and Helping others.

In This Moment: We start to lose the stigma of the phrase "Once an addict, always an addict." We learn to Love ourselves and others, Forgive ourselves and others.