A New Way To Live

[caressa]

A New Way to Live


"When at the end of the road we find that we can no longer function as a human
being, either with or without drugs, we all face the same dilemma.... Either go
on as best we can to the bitter ends-jails, institutions, or death-or find a new
way to live."

Basic Text p.84


What was the worst aspect of active addiction? For many of us, it wasn't the
chance that we might die some day of our disease. The worst part was the living
death we experienced every day, the never-ending meaninglessness of life. We
felt like walking ghosts, not living, loving parts of the world around us.

In recovery, we've come to believe that we're here for a reason: to love
ourselves and to love others. In working the Twelve Steps, we have learned to
accept ourselves. With that self-acceptance has come self-respect. We have seen
that everything we do has an effect on others; we are a part of the lives of
those around us, and they of ours. We've begun to trust other people and to
acknowledge our responsibility to them.

In recovery, we've come back to life. We maintain our new lives by contributing
to the welfare of others and seeking each day to do that better-that's where the
Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Steps come in. The days of living like a ghost are
past, but only so long as we actively seek to be healthy, loving, contributing
parts of our own lives and the lives of others around us.


Just for today: I have found a new way to live. Today, I will seek to serve
others with love and to love myself.
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Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©