The Reginald & Dionne Smith Foundation

08/27/2026

27 August

Discernment and Autonomy

Page 247

"As we mature in recovery, we learn to exercise sound judgment in how we make decisions, place our trust, and meet our responsibilities."

Guiding Principles, Tradition Four, Opening Essay

Stepwork, living clean, and the passage of time bring the gift of maturity to NA members. We gather practical experience as we take on various roles in NA--as home-group members, sponsors, and trusted servants. Each allows us to grapple with the meaning and application of the Traditions in real-life contexts and become more skilled at discernment as we do. We grasp how each Tradition works individually and discern how the tension between them creates balance.

For example, Tradition Four's assertion that "each group should be autonomous" makes it a favorite, especially when we want to validate any unconventional means of fulfilling our primary purpose. The Tradition doesn't stop there--unless we're trying to manipulate--and what follows provides some pretty clear instructions about the limits to autonomy: "except in matters affecting other groups or NA as a whole." The other eleven Traditions point to the kinds of things that threaten to do just that. Being mature and responsible members of NA--or at least aspiring to be--we lean into discernment to sort out whether or not expressions of autonomy are in harmony with the principles of the other Traditions.

To make sound decisions, we invite a loving Higher Power to influence our group conscience, as Tradition Two suggests. NA groups and communities arrive at group conscience by different paths, but we share some common markers: We come together in unity, we honor and include multiple perspectives, and we create space for honest and open communication. When we listen for the will of a loving God, we are practicing discernment. It pays off as we find a spiritual way forward, enlist trustworthy members to serve, and meet our responsibilities to provide them with the resources and support they need to carry out the work.

I will review my personal decision-making process and be more discerning about how I contribute to shaping my group's conscience. Sound judgment--my own and my group's--is a worthy goal.

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 © 2026 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

08/27/2026

27 August

Choosing life

Page 249

"Change from self-destructive patterns of life became necessary."

Basic Text, p. 15

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Active addiction is a smoldering death-wish. Each of us courted death every time we used. Our lifestyles, too, put us at risk. The life of an addict is sold cheaply with every day and every dose.

In recovery, the first pattern we change is the pattern of using. Staying clean is the start of our journey into life. But our self-destructive behavior usually went far deeper than just our using. Even in recovery, we may still treat ourselves as if we are worthless. When we treat ourselves badly, we feel badly. And when we feel badly, we seek relief--maybe even in our old solution, drugs.

Choosing recovery means choosing life. We decide each day that we want to live and be free. Each time we avoid self-destructive behavior, we choose recovery.

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Just for Today: I will choose life by choosing recovery. I will take care of myself.

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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08/26/2026

26 August

Choosing Intimacy over Isolation

Page 246

"Caring and sharing the NA way is the ultimate weapon against our alienating, isolating, destructive disease."

Living Clean, Chapter 5: Relationships, Opening Essay

Experiencing loneliness is an inevitable part of the human condition. For many addicts, this loneliness is amplified by how different we've felt from our peers. We've had trouble fitting in, or we're just plain weird. We needed too much attention and alienated others in our efforts to get it. Or we wanted none of that; instead, we stayed silent and hoped that others wouldn't notice us.

Drugs helped us deal with those feelings and experiences. Initially, using made us feel more "normal," more comfortable in our own skin. It allowed us to be more social and, most importantly, created a buffer to keep us safe from intimacy and vulnerability.

Early in recovery, we learn that our disease is fueled not only by getting loaded, but by keeping us isolated from others and from ourselves. When we first get clean and we don't have drugs as that extra layer of defense, we are raw.

Narcotics Anonymous provides us with opportunities to heal that rawness--through intimate relationships with other addicts. Allowing ourselves to share fearlessly with another addict is truly the salve for our isolation. Even with years clean, a voice in our heads will tell us that we are better off dealing with (or not dealing with) our problems alone. However, we know the act of revealing ourselves and being present for others is the most powerful antidote to our very human state of loneliness--and to our default addict state of believing we are just too weird.

Even though sharing may be uncomfortable, I will take a risk and allow myself to be seen by another addict. I will choose connection over isolation.

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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08/26/2026

26 August

Tenth Step inventory

Page 248

"We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Step Ten

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A daily Tenth Step keeps us on a sound spiritual footing. While each member asks different questions, some questions have been found to be helpful to almost everyone. Two key Tenth Step questions are, "Am I honestly in touch with myself, my actions, and my motives? And have I prayed for God's will for me and the power to carry it out?" These two questions, answered honestly, will lead us into a more thorough look at our day.

When focusing on our relationships with others, we may ask, "Have I harmed anyone today, either directly or indirectly? Do I need to make amends to anyone as a result of my actions today?" We keep it simple in our inventory if we remember to ask, "Where was I wrong? How can I do it better next time?"

NA members often find that their inventories include other important questions. "Was I good to myself today? Did I do something for someone else and expect nothing in return? Have I reaffirmed my faith in a loving Higher Power?"

Step Ten is a maintenance step of the NA program. The Tenth Step helps us to continue living comfortably in recovery.

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Just for Today: I will remember to review my day. If I have harmed another, I will make amends. I will think about how I can act differently.

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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19737 Nordhoff Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311

Copyright © 2026 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

08/25/2026

25 August

A New Meaning for Love

Page 245

"How we go about getting love is where our defects come into play."

NA Step Working Guides, Step Six, "Our Defects of Character"

Before coming to the Fellowship of NA, we had a distorted sense of both giving and receiving love. Now that we're clean, we've got love all figured out . . . if only that were true! It doesn't matter how much time we have clean (or what type of love we are talking about); love is a serious business that requires vigilance.

Where and how do we addicts go looking for love? When we write our inventories and listen to those of our sponsees, that question is answered in abundance. We hear many stories of unmet expectations, abandonment by parents and partners, abuse, and neglect. Others are about relationships sought, gained, and sustained through manipulation and passive-aggressive behaviors--and sometimes coercive acts. We hear about love being confused with the exchange of s*x, money, and, of course, drugs.

We did those things to others, and others did them to us. And many of those behaviors will appear in future inventories because our character defects will rear their ugly heads again. The difference is that in NA we have the opportunity to seek and express love in ways that are manifestations of our assets, rather than our defects.

In NA, we get to experience the unconditional love of the Fellowship. We learn how to love and care for people in the rooms, as we learn how to accept that same love and care from others. Also, we will have abundant opportunities outside the rooms to apply the principles of love. Through working the Steps honestly and thoroughly, we are far less likely to try to manipulate and control others--or let ourselves be manipulated and controlled.

I am learning new ways to give and receive love. I don't have to act on my defects to experience love anymore. I will try to love those in my life with acceptance instead of expectations 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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08/25/2026

25 August

The Ninth Step--reclaiming life

Page 247

"We are achieving freedom from the wreckage of our past."

Basic Text, p. 42

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When we start the Ninth Step, we've reached an exciting stage in our recovery. The damage done in our lives is what led many of us to seek help in the first place. Now, we have a chance to clean up that wreckage, amend our past, and reclaim our lives.

We've spent a long time and much effort preparing for this step. When we came to NA, facing the debris of our past was probably the last thing we wanted to do. We started doing it privately with a personal inventory. Then, we opened our past up to the scrutiny of a select, trusted few: ourselves, our Higher Power, and one other person. We took a look at our shortcomings, the source of much of the chaos in our lives, and asked that all those defects of character be removed. Finally, we listed the amends needed to set our wrongs right--all of them--and became willing to make them.

Now, we have the opportunity to make amends--to acquire freedom from the wreckage of our past. Everything we've done so far in NA has led us here. At this point in the process of our recovery, the Ninth Step is exactly what we want to do. With the Twelve Steps and the help of a Higher Power, we are clearing away the rubble that for so long has stood in the way of our progress; we are gaining the freedom to live.

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Just for Today: I will take advantage of the opportunity to reclaim my life. I will experience freedom from the wreckage of my past.

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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08/24/2026

24 August

Finding Healing in Humor

Page 244

"The way we share . . . finding humor in some of the darkest, most frightening things that have happened to us--is not always available outside the rooms."

Living Clean, Chapter 2, "Connection to the World Around Us"

In NA, we often get to know each other from the inside out. "I knew the biggest hopes and fears of some of the members of my home group before I knew their last names or what kind of jobs they had," one member shared. We may never know the inner life of nonaddicts the way we know each other in NA--and it's a big part of why we're able to laugh with and poke fun at our fellow NA members.

Humor often comes in the form of a surprising or unexpected gap between expectation and reality. In society, there are lots of expectations about how people ought to act around one another--expectations that we addicts disregard completely. The nonaddicts in our lives often do not see what's so funny. Sometimes that's the joke: "Normal" people act one way; we addicts act very differently. When we hear members share their bizarre ideas and actions, we relate and are relieved that we're not alone.

Many of us find a deep well of humor in the way denial framed our experience. Sometimes that's the joke. "I thought my life was like something out of a big-shot gangster film-- money and drugs and lots of drama. In reality, it was more like a depressing ad for keeping your kids off drugs." The stark contrast between reality and the imagined movie version of our stories might seem pathetic or deranged to outsiders, but we lived to tell--and we can knowingly laugh at ourselves today.

Humor helps us heal as we come to terms with the reality of our lives. We see the outrageous gap between our behaviors and what "polite" society expects. (Of course, there are gaps--we're square pegs in round holes!) Or we notice the laughable distance between our lives and our fantasies. We share our inner selves in a way we can't anywhere else, often giving our fellow members a good chuckle. We stop taking ourselves so seriously, let our flaws show, and start to grow. It can be very funny, but it's no joke!

By sharing my insides with other addicts, I can learn to laugh at the insanity of addiction--and let go of it, little by little.

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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19737 Nordhoff Place

08/24/2026

NA World Services, Inc.
24 August

Seeking God's will

Page 246

"We learn to be careful of praying for specific things."

Basic Text, p. 46

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In our active addiction, we usually did not pray for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry it out. On the contrary, most of our prayers were for God to get us out of the mess we had made for ourselves. We expected miracles on demand. That kind of thinking and praying changes when we begin practicing the Eleventh Step. The only way out of the trouble we have made for ourselves is through surrender to a Power greater than ourselves.

In recovery, we learn acceptance. We seek knowledge in our prayers and meditation of how we are to greet the circumstances that come our way. We stop fighting, surrender our own ideas of how things should be, ask for knowledge, and listen for the answers. The answers usually won't come in a flash of white light accompanied by a drum roll. Usually, the answers will come merely with a quiet sense of assurance that our lives are on course, that a Power greater than ourselves is guiding us on our paths.

We have a choice. We can spend all our time fighting to make things come out our way, or we can surrender to God's will. Peace can be found in accepting the ebb and flow of life.

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Just for Today: I will surrender my expectations, look to my Higher Power for guidance, and accept life.

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 © 2026 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

All of the efforts of Narcotics Anonymous are inspired by the primary purpose of our groups. Upon this common ground we stand committed. Our vision is that

08/23/2026

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