Tafakari ya Kitabu cha Kijivu
Let us apply our efforts to the obtainable and let the rest go. As we do the job at hand the balance changes and new opportunities for improvement present themselves.
Gray Book, p. 83 (Chapter Five, Lines 9-11)
As addicts, we often find ourselves trapped in either resentments of the past or fear for the future. Anywhere but right here and right now.
We cannot change our past, nor do we know what the future holds for us. By focusing on the unobtainable, we find ourselves stuck and going nowhere.
We are often told by our friends in Narcotics Anonymous "First Things First, "Just For Today," and "Look At Your Feet. " All we truly have is the present. The present is where we're able to participate in change. When we first come to the Fellowship, obtaining and maintaining Complete Abstinence is our First priority because this Abstinence is the cornerstone of our Recovery. "Staying Clean Must Come First. Once we're Clean, a void is created that forces us to seek a Power greater than ourselves to relieve the obsession to use.
From there our minds are finally clear enough for us to make a decision to turn our Will and Lives over to the Care of God as We Understood Him. Being in the Care of that Power gives us the Courage to assess ourselves in Step Four. This assessment gives us the information necessary to make an admission in the Fifth Step.
The logical conclusion of that admission is the Willingness of the Sixth Step. Our Process continues in this manner through the Twelfth Step in which we use our Spiritual Awakening to Carry this Message to others. Carrying this Message to others requires that we Live it by continuing to look at ourselves and improve.
In this way, each time we look at and act on our present state, the Balance changes and new possibilities present themselves. A member once explained Balance as a dynamic force which requires constant adjustment, like a tightrope walker. If we're not continuing to adjust, we will lose Balance and fall.
However, so long as we maintain Balance by focusing on where we're at right now, we get to move forward.
In This Moment: With the Help of the Fellowship, we can see what task is in front of us. By focusing only on what we can do right now, the God of Our Understanding will open new avenues for us to travel.