The NA Way...

I was reading the new edition of The NA Way today and came across an article in it that was written by a fellow recovering addict from Canada. I thought I'd pass it along as a great article about how people manage to stay clean only by entering the door of recovery...the Second Step of our 12 Step program. Enjoy!

Step Two


You know those Magic Eye® puzzles found in newspapers? I could never do
them. I’d try…and never get anything. And then, one day, I noticed something
below the picture: step-by-step directions. Well, I’d never followed directions
for anything, so I guessed this was an opportunity to practice the principle of
open-mindedness that Step Two suggests. When I followed the directions, the
picture came to life right before my eyes! It was through this experience that I was
able to look at Step Two in a new way. Coming into recovery, I found that
when I put down drugs, my behavior from “out there” automatically kicked in.
If I didn’t know something, I’d just make anything up and eventually believe it to
be true. NA offers step-by-step direction on how to “stop using drugs, lose
the desire to use, and find a new way to live.” Even though I wanted it on my own
terms, I realized these “directions” might provide a solution for me.
NA teaches us that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results. For me, that meant if I was going to give recovery a shot, I
needed to do something different, and that meant learning to follow directions.

The directions are clear and simple:

                               • Attend meetings regularly.

                               • Work with a sponsor.

                               • Do some service work.

                               • Work the steps.

Oddly enough, I always thought of myself as a leader. However, true leaders
know when to take and follow direction. If I was going to master recovery and serve
as a leader, I was going to need to learn how to follow, to surrender. Much like
when I learned to see the Magic Eye®, the instant I surrendered to the process,
a new dimension revealed itself. I came to believe in the program and what it had
to offer. When I surrendered the insanity of my way and started to follow this new
path, life revealed itself in a way I had never experienced before.

Anonymous, Manitoba, Canada
Reprinted with permission from the November
2010 Manitoba Area Newsline

“Reprinted with permission from NA Way Magazine, January 2011

All the best, Roger W.