Tháng 9 ngày 9

When we arrive in Narcotics Anonymous battered and beaten by the disease of addiction, it is clear that neither we, nor the world have met our expectations. Spiritually bankrupt, many of us gave up on ourselves and others long ago and many of us expected nothing more than pain and perhaps the relief of death. After attaining Complete and Total Abstinence, and beginning to Live the Spiritual Principles of the Narcotics Anonymous Program, most of us begin to regain some things, and along with these things we may regain expectations of ourselves and those around us. As addicts, we have a tendency to try to project into the future. No human has the ability to predict the future and as people with a disease which distorts rational thought, we're particularly bad at it. Worse still we have a pension for reacting with resentment and hostility when our expectations are not met.

Many have heard the expression "expectations are premeditated resentments. We find that this is painfully true. Part of the Admission we make in the First Step is that we have no control over people, places and things.

Our struggle against this fact is where we stumble. An insane person is one who lives out of harmony with Reality.

This is exactly what we're doing when we attempt to control outcomes which are out of our control. Through the Help of Narcotics Anonymous, we have found a Loving Higher Power which can restore us to Sanity.

We no longer have to cause harm to ourselves and others when Life doesn't go the way we planned. We can Forgive, and be Forgiven.

We don't have to carry the exhausting burden of our resentments. We're reminded that we're Responsible for the footwork and the God of Our Understanding is Responsible for the results. We do our best to Live the Spiritual Principles of Narcotics Anonymous, and we Surrender the rest to our Faith and Trust in God.

We learn that God may not always give us what we want, but He will always give us what we need. It is not the world that must change, it is our perceptions that must change. We realize that not only is it ok for people to make mistakes, it's ok for us to be human as well.

We're not perfect and that's ok. God Loves us for who we are and so does the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous. Now we must learn to do the same for ourselves and others.

In This Moment: Through the Narcotics Anonymous Program I will Maintain my Awareness that we're all perfectly imperfect. All we do is give our best and Trust the God of Our Understanding to Care for us.