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The Reginald & Dionne Smith Foundation, 2870 Peachtree Road NW #915-1076, Atlanta, GA (2025)

12/04/2025

04 December

Vulnerability Builds Bonds

Page 350

"Honest self-assessment is essential to recovery, but it is only possible if we are vulnerable enough to let someone in."

Living Clean, Chapter 6, "Anonymity"

Practicing vulnerability runs counter to our "terminally hip and fatally cool" self-image. Our instincts still tell us to hide any hint of frailty for fear that others will take advantage of us. It takes a conscious decision to drop the defenses that once kept us safe. We choose to share our pain with others, taking risks in defiance of diseased thinking and deeply rooted behavior.

Our willingness to trust the process increases over time. We may confide some of our darkest secrets to new friends in recovery even before we write an inventory. We notice that practicing vulnerability brings us closer to others.

Although legend has it that a member once shared their inventory with a taxi driver, we'd be hard-pressed to find someone who unloaded their Fifth Step on someone besides their sponsor. By the time we get to Step Five, we've grown to rely on our sponsor for good guidance and have learned to trust that what we share will be held in confidence. Perhaps most importantly, our sponsors don't judge us or condemn our behavior--we do enough of that ourselves. Rather, sponsors try to help us work through our shame and embarrassment and move into acceptance.

We reflect on how we've opened up over time and realize the benefits of practicing vulnerability. Experience emboldens us to meet our fears head-on. We're free to be real and raw and vulnerable in meetings. We come to realize the walls we built to keep us safe kept us imprisoned. We aspire to build our relationships on a foundation of trust, honesty, and openness.

When we share from our hearts, others meet us there. Our sponsees, friends, and partners open up to us, and the value of vulnerability is reinforced. Experience confirms that we can feel vulnerable without shutting down. As one addict put it, "Vulnerability is like a super-strength adhesive. It bonds us together like nothing else."

I will have the courage to be vulnerable today. I will share my true thoughts and feelings, letting those who love me know all of me.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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Copyright © 2025 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

12/04/2025

04 December

God's will, not ours

Page 354

"We know that if we pray for God's will we will receive what is best for us, regardless of what we think."

Basic Text, p. 46

❖

By the time we came to NA, our inner voices had become unreliable and self-destructive. Addiction had warped our desires, our interests, our sense of what was best for ourselves. That's why it's been so important in recovery to develop our belief in a Power greater than ourselves, something that could provide saner, more reliable guidance than our own. We've begun learning how to rely on this Power's care and to trust the inner direction it provides us.

As with all learning processes, it takes practice to "pray only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out." The selfish, ego-driven attitudes we developed in our addiction are not cast off overnight. Those attitudes may affect the way we pray. We may even find ourselves praying something like, "Relieve me of this character defect so I can look good."

The more straightforward we are about our own ideas and desires, the easier it will be to distinguish between our own will and our Higher Power's will. "Just for your information, God," we might pray, "here's what I want in this situation. Nonetheless, I ask that your will, not mine, be done." Once we do this, we are prepared to recognize and accept our Higher Power's guidance.

❖

Just for Today: Higher Power, I've learned to trust your guidance, yet I still have my own ideas about how I want to live my life. Let me share those ideas with you, and then let me clearly understand your will for me. In the end, let your will, not mine, be done.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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12/03/2025

03 December

The Discipline to (Sometimes) Say No

Page 349

"Discipline is not a practice that comes naturally to most addicts, and the need to say "no" to ourselves can be quite a challenge."

Guiding Principles, Tradition Seven, "For Members"

The freedom we find when we stop using drugs is incredible. We regain so much in terms of the time, energy, and other resources that were previously devoted to sustaining our addiction. Saying "no" to our disease frees us up to say "yes" to things we'd been missing out on. As we revel in our newfound ability to say "yes" to ourselves, some of us find ourselves looking for relief from other behaviors. "Getting clean saved my life, but I gained so much weight my first year clean that I got stretch marks!" Another member shared, "The money I'd been spending on drugs was diverted to buying crap I didn't need. I tried to fix myself with retail therapy--but I was still unhappy."

Discipline can sometimes feel like a punishment--like we're denying ourselves things we really enjoy. If we're free, why do we have to say "no" to ourselves? Our freedom has its limits, as do our resources. Discipline helps us shift our thinking. Instead of focusing on what we deny ourselves--that extra piece of cake or the quick fix of an online purchase--we think about what we gain by using our resources wisely and keep our eyes on the financial security and peace of mind we're striving for.

Discipline is the willingness to say "no" to things that feel good in the moment but cost us later. We do so as a Fellowship when we say "no" to money from outside NA--and "yes" to our ability to make our own choices as a Fellowship, remaining free from the influence of outside entities. In our personal recovery, we say "no" to momentary impulses for the sake of our longer-term peace of mind. Would we rather have a little bit of fleeting comfort right now or a deeper, lasting sense of comfort and security over time? The choice is ours.

I can't say "yes" to everything--I will reserve my "yes" for what's truly important to me today.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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12/03/2025

03 December

Vision without limits

Page 353

"Perhaps for the first time, we see a vision of our new life."

Basic Text, p. 35

❖

In our addiction, our vision of ourselves was very limited. Each day, we went through the same routine: getting, using, and finding ways and means to get more. And that's all we could reasonably expect for the duration of our lives. Our potential was limited.

Today, our prospects are changed. Recovery has given us a new vision of ourselves and our lives. We are no longer trapped in the endlessly gray routine of addiction. We are free to stretch ourselves in new ways, trying out new ideas and new activities. In doing so, we come to see ourselves in a new way. Our potential is limited only by the strength of the Higher Power that cares for us--and that strength has no limits.

In recovery, life and everything in it appears open to us. Guided by our spiritual principles, driven by the power given us by the God of our understanding, our horizons are limitless.

❖

Just for Today: I will open my eyes to the possibilities before me. My potential is as limitless and as powerful as the God of my understanding. Today, I will act on that potential.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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12/02/2025

02 December

Accepting Reality

Page 348

"The fantasy world that we lived in during active addiction fades as we begin to see and accept life as it is."

IP #10, Working Step Four in Narcotics Anonymous, "General guidelines"

It took a lot of effort to create the alternate reality we lived in for so long. We invested in false perceptions and delusions about our lives and went to great lengths to maintain them. We became isolated from everyone and everything outside our self-made prisons.

As one addict put it, "My world had become so small. To live with that fact, I convinced myself that nothing outside my little sphere was relevant." In truth, we were only kidding ourselves. Denial and dishonesty protected us from seeing the harm we were causing. Once we raised the curtain of self-deception, we recognized the lies we'd been telling ourselves.

In Step One, we discovered many truths, but seeing the truth doesn't always lead to instant acceptance. It takes time to accept our addiction and life the way it really is. As one member said, "I was a legend in my own mind, and I didn't want to let that go."

By working Steps Four and Five, we identify the exact nature of our wrongs--as well as what's exactly right with us. And as we stay clean, the fantasy world fades, and we see ourselves and our lives more clearly. As we let go of the make-believe world we created, our real world expands. We don't have to cover up the shame and guilt created in active addiction with more "plausible but untrue reasons for our behavior." Reality becomes a relief.

I will be honest with myself and practice living in the moment. I'll let go of my unrealistic fantasies and delusions so I can gratefully accept all that this life has to offer today.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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12/02/2025

02 December

Recovery: our first priority

Page 352

"We have to keep our recovery first and our priorities in order."

Basic Text p. 82

❖

Before coming to NA, we used many excuses to justify our use of drugs: "He yelled at me." "She said this." "My partner left." "I got fired." We used these same excuses for not seeking help for our drug problem. We had to realize that these things kept happening because we kept using drugs. Only when we made recovery our first priority did these situations begin to change.

We may be subject to the same tendency today, using excuses for not attending meetings and being of service. Our current excuses may be of a different nature: "I can't leave my kids." "My vacation wore me out." "I have to finish this project so I can impress my boss." But still, if we don't make recovery our first priority, chances are that we won't have to worry about these excuses anymore. Kids, vacations, and jobs probably won't be in our lives if we relapse.

Our recovery must come first. Job or no job, relationship or no relationship, we have to attend meetings, work the steps, call our sponsor, and be of service to God and others. These simple actions are what make it possible for us to have vacations, families, and bosses to worry about. Recovery is the foundation of our lives, making everything else possible.

❖

Just for Today: I will keep my priorities in order. Number One on the list is my recovery.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311

Copyright © 2025 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

12/01/2025

01 December

Unconditional Love and Sponsorship

Page 347

"I think that the most valuable lesson sponsorship gives me is the opportunity to practice unconditional love. It deepens my appreciation for what has been given to me."

Sponsorship, Chapter 1, "The Twelfth Step in action"

It takes a lot of courage to ask someone to be your sponsor. It takes even more courage to be a sponsor, and more patience with ourselves and our sponsees as well. Whether we admit it or not, some of us avoid newcomers because we see ourselves in them. We know we drive ourselves nuts, so how can we deal with more than one of us? Also, what happens if we mess them up worse? And years later, when we have time and a reasonable amount of experience, someone we respect asks for our guidance through the Steps. Those feelings of fear resurface. What if I'm not good enough?

Our sponsor's steadfast support plays a huge role in our recovery, especially when we are the knuckleheads we can sometimes be. At times, we are also aware that our sponsor is just another human being--an addict with character defects like ours, who can offend us or come up short. The mutual love, respect, and acceptance that flow back and forth within that relationship are instructive in our decision to sponsor others.

"Yes, of course, I'm so honored you asked." And we won't do it perfectly. For some of us, even with experience, our patience might wear thin when a sponsee doesn't take our suggestions. We have to confront our powerlessness when someone we sponsor relapses or acts out. There are times when our own lives are unmanageable and we have to dig deep to be able to show our sponsees the unconditional love they need.

Sometimes we make mistakes. But just as in the relationship with our own sponsor, we make it work because we need each other to stay clean. Or, we can't make it work. Sometimes going our separate ways is itself an act of love.

Today I will give back some of the unconditional love I received--to a sponsee, my sponsor, or any addict who needs it.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
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12/01/2025

01 December

Life's rewards

Page 351

"We begin to pray only for God's will for us. That way, we get only what we are capable of handling."

Basic Text, p. 49

❖

Imagine what might happen if God gave us everything we wanted. A fabulous new car, straight As, a triple salary raise--all ours without effort, just for the asking.

Now imagine the problems that come along with unearned riches, new luxury cars, and unmerited scholastic recognition. What would we do with a huge salary raise that had been granted for no reason? How would we handle our new financial responsibilities? And how would we live up to that raise? Could we ever make it appear that we deserve such pay when we know we don't?

What about that fantastic new car? Most come with expensive insurance premiums and hefty maintenance costs. Are we prepared to care for what we've asked for?

Academic honors? Could we perform like A students after we'd been given high marks we hadn't earned? What would we do if we were exposed as frauds?

When we talk to God, we need to remember that we live in the real world. We earn rewards and learn to handle them as we do. Confining our prayers to requests for knowledge of God's will, the power to carry it out, and the ability to live with the consequences will ensure that we get no more than we can handle.

❖

Just for Today: I will pray only for knowledge of God's will and the power to carry that out in the real world.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
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Copyright © 2025 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

11/30/2025

30 November

Listening with an Open Mind and Heart

Page 345

"We learn to actively cultivate our listening skills, using our ears more than our mouths in conversation."

It Works, Tradition Two, "Applying Spiritual Principles"

Being open-minded is a key spiritual principle of Tradition Two in which we invite a Higher Power to develop and guide our group's conscience in decision making. One helpful step toward getting our minds open enough to participate in this process is to open our ears to each other. And, as the cliche goes, we're not just hearing words (blah, blah, blah, waiting for my turn to speak) but listening to them. For that to happen in earnest, we need to take a break from talking, or thinking about what we're going to say when it's finally our turn.

A mistake we often make in relationships--and this easily applies to service in NA--is believing that being heard and getting our point across is the most important contribution we can make. There are times when we confuse listening with telling someone how much we understand and immediately sharing our own story of identification. And other times our evidence for listening is a hefty list of solutions to the challenges a member has just shared with us. Sometimes an addict just wants to be heard. Our sage advice can wait until it's asked for.

When we actively listen in conversation or in a group discussion, we're able to make more meaning of the topic, have more empathy, be more inclusive and curious. We tap into the conscience part of Tradition Two when we listen to--and absorb--the voices of our fellow members. Our perspective broadens, context deepens. At our most open, we can see things as others see them, maybe even clarifying our own viewpoints in the process. We can be influenced. An addict shared, "I feel much more at peace when I am listening and not trying so hard to be heard--and isn't serenity what all this is about anyway?"

Today will be a day when I'm going to open my mind and my heart by opening my ears and not my mouth. Be quiet, brain, I'm listening!

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311

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11/30/2025

30 November

Sharing the real me

Page 348

"Sharing with others keeps us from feeling isolated and alone."

Basic Text, p. 85

❖

Intimacy is the sharing of our innermost thoughts and feelings with another human being. Many of us long for the warmth and companionship intimacy brings, but those things don't come without effort. In our addiction, we learned to guard ourselves from others lest they threaten our using. In recovery, we learn how to trust others. Intimacy requires us to lower our defenses. To feel the closeness intimacy brings, we must allow others to get close to us--the real us.

If we are to share our innermost selves with others, we must first have an idea of what those innermost selves are truly like. We regularly examine our lives to find out who we really are, what we really want, and how we really feel. Then, based on our regular inventories of ourselves, we must be as completely and consistently honest with our friends as we can be.

Intimacy is a part of life, and therefore a part of living clean--and intimacy, like everything in recovery, has its price. The painstaking self-scrutiny intimacy calls for can be hard work. And the total honesty of intimacy often brings its own complications. But the freedom from isolation and loneliness that intimacy brings is well worth the effort.

❖

Just for Today: I seek the freedom from isolation and loneliness that intimacy brings. Today, I will get to know "the real me" by taking a personal inventory, and I will practice being completely honest with another person.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
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11/29/2025

29 November

Flexibility through Life's Storms

Page 344

"The open-mindedness we practice in our recovery gives us the ability to be flexible when things change in ways we hadn't expected."

Living Clean, Chapter 6, "Getting Out of Our Own Way"

Trees are commonly associated with qualities like strength and resilience, qualities that can help us endure the difficulties of getting and staying clean. Living life on life's terms involves experiencing all sorts of weather patterns--plenty of sunshine and warmth, followed by patches of cold, rain, storms, and snow. Some of us work so hard to hold everything in our lives together, only to find ourselves having a complete breakdown when someone takes our seat at the meeting. If we take a lesson from trees, we'll see that the more rigid and inflexible we are, the more easily we can be shattered.

Palm trees might not strike us as especially strong. They are often associated with beaches and easy breezes--and do they even look all that sturdy compared to, say, an oak? However, those skinny, seemingly weak palms lay down firm root structures and, when a powerful storm comes, they are able to lean with the wind. The visible part of the tree above the surface is flexible and resilient, as strong roots secure it from beneath.

Our lives will become tumultuous from time to time. We have disagreements with coworkers or partners. People in public annoy us. We find our usual seat at our home group occupied and have to sit somewhere else. We can become rigid and defiant, refusing to bend. Or we can move toward open-mindedness, willing to give a little here and there as needed, so we don't snap when the pressure is on. When our roots are firmly secured in recovery, we tend to find the flexibility we need.

I cannot control the weather, but I can practice flexibility. I will plant myself firmly in the NA program, knowing that I can bounce back from any feelings that may come to pass.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311

Copyright © 2025 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

11/29/2025

29 November

Our Higher Power's care

Page 347

"We believe that our Higher Power will take care of us."

Basic Text, p. 58

❖

Our program is based on the idea that the application of simple principles can produce profound effects in our lives. One such principle is that, if we ask, our Higher Power will care for us. Because this principle is so basic, we may tend to ignore it. Unless we learn to consciously apply this spiritual truth, we may miss out on something as essential to our recovery as breathing is to life itself.

What happens when we find ourselves stressed or panicked? If we have consistently sought to improve our relationship with our Higher Power, we'll have no problem. Rather than acting rashly, we will stop for a moment and briefly remind ourselves of particular instances in the past when our Higher Power has shown its care for us. This will assure us that our Higher Power is still in charge of our lives. Then, we will seek guidance and power for the situation at hand and proceed calmly, confident that our lives are in God's hands.

"Our program is a set of principles," our White Booklet tells us. The more consistently we seek to improve our conscious appreciation of these principles, the more readily we will be able to apply them.

❖

Just for Today: I will seek to improve my conscious contact with the Higher Power that cares for me. When the need arises, I know I will be able to trust in that care.

All NAWS subscriptions are free. We are able to provide this service due, in part, to the generous contributions of our members. If you are a member, you can make a contribution here: www.na.org/contribute

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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311

Copyright © 2025 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Reginald & Dionne Smith Foundation

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