https://www.therdsf.org/, https://www.therdsf.com/

The Reginald & Dionne Smith Foundation, 2870 Peachtree Road NW #915-1076, Atlanta, GA (2026)

04/28/2026

28 April

Inspired to Understand

Page 122

"We begin to understand that other people have real feelings and that we are capable of hurting them if we are careless."

It Works, Step Nine

Active addiction causes us shame, and shame feels lousy. We learned to shut down our feelings, to turn our backs to our emotional well-being. Before drugs were a problem, they were our solution. Our preferred state--a drug-induced haze--made it easier to shut down those pesky feelings.

When we get to NA, we start to feel better; we start to feel everything better. Early recovery can seem like a feelings roller coaster that takes us from uncomfortable to exhilarated with every turn. Since numbing our feelings isn't a viable option, we take a stab at understanding ourselves and the effects of the disease. Step One helps us to see how powerlessness and unmanageability shaped our every attempt to control our drug use. We begin to identify our feelings and verbalize our thoughts and emotions. When members nod and laugh in recognition as we share, we experience how good it feels to be understood.

We are inspired to be more understanding and empathetic. We practice being thoughtful and kind, and others reciprocate. We gain an awareness of how our behavior affects others. We learn to practice discretion and keep our unsolicited opinions to ourselves at times. This is new! Where once we were careless, practicing understanding calls on us to be considerate of others.

We gain valuable insight as we inventory our behavior. Most of us find that we've been on both sides of hurt feelings. This brings our understanding of ourselves and others to a whole new level.

We gain additional clarity in the amends process. We rally the courage and willingness to meet with the people we have harmed, to own our mistakes, and to change our behavior. We apply the principle of understanding by moving through our lives with more care and concern. Because we're human, there will be missteps, but as members of NA we have a process for staying clear and current.

I have a choice about my behavior today. I choose to be considerate of other people's feelings and my own emotional well-being. I will allow understanding to influence my actions.

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

04/28/2026

28 April

Who really gets better?

Page 122

"We can also use the steps to improve our attitudes. Our best thinking got us into trouble. We recognize the need for change."

Basic Text, p. 55

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When new in recovery, most of us had at least one person we just couldn't stand. We thought that person was the rudest, most obnoxious person in the program. We knew there was something we could do, some principle of recovery we could practice to get over the way we felt about this person--but what? We asked our sponsor for guidance. We were probably assured, with an amused smile, that if we just kept coming back, we'd see the person get better. That made sense to us. We believed that the steps of NA worked in the lives of everyone. If they could work for us, they could work for this horrible person, too.

Time passed, and at some point we noticed that the person didn't seem as rude or obnoxious as before. In fact, he or she had become downright tolerable, maybe even likeable. We got a pleasant jolt as we realized who had really gotten better. Because we had kept coming back, because we had kept working the steps, our perception of this person had changed. The person who'd plagued us had become "tolerable" because we'd developed some tolerance; he or she had become "likeable" because we'd developed the ability to love.

So who really gets better? We do! As we practice the program, we gain a whole new outlook on those around us by gaining a new outlook on ourselves.

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Just for Today: As I get better, so will others. Today, I will practice tolerance and try to love those I meet.

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

04/26/2026

26 April

Caring for Ourselves, Caring for Others

Page 120

"We need to develop empathy and concern for others, and to let go of self- obsession without losing sight of ourselves."

Living Clean, Chapter 5, "Friendship"

Negotiating a balance between caring for ourselves and for others takes much self-awareness. It requires ongoing focus, discernment, and thoughtful action. Finding that combination of loving generosity in helping others while maintaining appropriate boundaries--the healthy interplay between independence and interdependence--is a lifelong pursuit for a recovering addict.

Through the work we do on ourselves, our bent toward self-obsessiveness lessens as our empathy for others tends to deepen. What used to be a single-minded concern for "this addict" often becomes tempered with a genuine concern for other NA members. Many of us roll up our sleeves and get to work helping new members because we want them to experience the same relief and connection that we did. We have found a new way of life and want to share with them how we did it. Fair enough. But we may end up feeling like we need to save them and that we are the only ones who can do it. We take it personally when our suggestions are rebuffed. We mistakenly blame ourselves if they don't stay clean.

This perspective is detrimental to our own recovery, reflecting a bit of that self-obsession we thought we had exchanged for kindness. We must show ourselves some care--and demonstrate some humility, even self-respect, often by taking a step back while still making ourselves available to help when asked. Knowing where support ends and enabling begins can be a baffling process that we revisit again and again throughout our recovery. Some of us develop excellent instincts in this regard and can support other addicts through the process of discovery for themselves.

I can care about others while still caring for myself. I can help others find what I'm finding in NA while maintaining my self-respect and being pragmatic about my powerlessness over other people.

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

04/26/2026

26 April

Self-acceptance

Page 120

"The most effective means of achieving self-acceptance is through applying the Twelve Steps of recovery."

IP No. 19,

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Most of us came to Narcotics Anonymous without much self-acceptance. We looked at the havoc we had wreaked in our active addiction, and we loathed ourselves. We had difficulty accepting our past and the self-image produced by it.

Self-acceptance comes more quickly when we first accept that we have a disease called addiction, because it's easier to accept ourselves as sick people than as bad people. And the easier it is to accept ourselves, the easier it becomes to accept responsibility for ourselves.

We achieve self-acceptance through the process of ongoing recovery. Working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous teaches us to accept ourselves and our lives. Spiritual principles like surrender, honesty, faith, and humility help relieve us of the burden of our past mistakes. Our attitude changes with the application of these principles in our daily lives. Self-acceptance grows as we grow in recovery.

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Just for Today: Self-acceptance is a process set in motion by the Twelve Steps. Today, I will trust the process, practice the steps, and learn to better accept 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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NA World Services, Inc.
19737 Nordhoff Place
Chatsworth, CA 91311

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

04/25/2026

25 April

Compassion Toward All

Page 119

"I have a deep compassion for the still-suffering addict, be it the addict who is sitting in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, the addict who has yet to find the rooms, or especially the addict who left and has yet to find the way back again."

Basic Text, Coming Home, "Second Chance"

One of the most painful lessons we learn in recovery is that we are each on our own path. No matter how much we want to help, close friends or partners sometimes relapse. Sponsees or other members we've tried to help may choose to get loaded. The same goes for members with significant cleantime whom we admire, and sometimes our sponsor (who's just another addict like we are) will be suffering in the rooms and keeping it to themselves--and will end up using again. The pain we feel in these situations takes many forms: grief, anger, betrayal, confusion, fear for our own recovery.

But we also feel deep compassion for another addict's pain. We try to let that compassion, rather than our pain, drive our actions.

NA members have different ideas about what compassion looks like. Some of us believe that if an addict is using and not coming to meetings, no contact should be made. Tough love. Others reach out to still-using addicts believing it's absolutely necessary to maintain that connection.

In some meetings, an empty chair is set out to represent the still-suffering addict, and--as a sort of collective compassion--we pray that seat gets filled. The most important thing we can do is to stay clean ourselves so that when the time comes, we will be there for any addict who is seeking help. The power of living by example should never be underestimated. Whatever our judgments, we can all agree that addicts should always be welcomed to meetings regardless of how many times they've relapsed, what they look or smell like, or what our history with them has been. As a Fellowship, our job is to practice compassion no matter what.

During the moment of silence at my next meeting, I'll pray for a specific addict who's suffering: I am here for you. I'm saving a chair for you.

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

04/25/2026

25 April

Embracing reality

Page 119

"Recovery is a reality for us today."

Basic Text, p. 101

❖

Pain and misery were realities in our using lives. We were unwilling either to accept our living situation or to change what was unacceptable in our lives. We attempted to escape life's pain by taking drugs, but using only compounded our troubles. Our altered sense of reality became a nightmare.

Through living the program of Narcotics Anonymous, we learn that our dreams can replace our nightmares. We grow and change. We acquire the freedom of choice. We are able to give and receive love. We can share honestly about ourselves, no longer magnifying or minimizing the truth. We accept the challenges real life offers us, facing them in a mature, responsible way.

Although recovery does not give us immunity from the realities of life, in the NA Fellowship we can find the support, genuine care, and concern we need to face those realities. We need never hide from reality by using drugs again, for our unity with other recovering addicts gives us strength. Today the support, the care, and the empathy of recovery give us a clean, clear window through which to view, experience, and appreciate reality as it is.

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Just for Today: A gift of my recovery is living and enjoying life as it truly is. Today, I will embrace reality.

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

04/24/2026

24 April

Faith and Step Three

Page 118

"In the Third Step, faith gives us the capacity to actually make a decision and carry that decision into action."

NA Step Working Guides, Step Three, "Spiritual Principles"

When we look back at early recovery--regardless of how recent or distant that may be--we can see how faith inspired some of our decisions and helped us to act on them. Many of us credit some sort of blind faith for getting us through the doors of our first meeting. We decided to get some help and found our way to Narcotics Anonymous.

As our heads cleared, we saw that our every effort to clean up on our own had failed. Consciously or not, we surrendered and made that crucial admission in Step One. We took another leap of faith by entertaining the possibility that we could stay clean and be restored to sanity. Faith that the recovery that we'd seen work for others could also work for us brought us to Step Three.

Deciding to turn our will and life over to the care of the God of our understanding was huge. It might have seemed too big, really. Other members reassured us, "You're just making a decision. You'll have a lifetime to figure out what that looks like, plenty of time to practice." So, okay, we decide . . . now what?

Some of us get stuck here or find ourselves cycling through the first three Steps, sure that we've dropped a stitch. We get lucky--as we do so often in NA--when we're sitting in a meeting, only half listening, and we hear just what we need to propel us into action: "The footwork of Step Three is Step Four." And so on.

The faith we practice as NA members gives us the courage to make other momentous decisions: to change careers, to exercise more, to marry, to end a marriage. When we're secure in our recovery, faith enables us to ask ourselves some really tough questions, like "What do I want?" and "What's holding me back?" Faith steadies us as we make decisions, supports us as we clear the way forward, and keeps us humble as we find out what we're capable of.

Faith will show in my actions today, as I make the time to do the things I ought to do and say the things I need to say.

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

04/24/2026

24 April

Twelve steps of life

Page 118

"Through abstinence and through working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous, our lives have become useful."

Basic Text, p. 8

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Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, our lives were centered around using. For the most part, we had very little energy left over for jobs, relationships, or other activities. We served only our addiction.

The Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous provide a simple way to turn our lives around. We start by staying clean, a day at a time. When our energy is no longer channeled into our addiction, we find that we have the energy to pursue other interests. As we grow in recovery, we become able to sustain healthy relationships. We become trustworthy employees. Hobbies and recreation seem more inviting. Through participation in Narcotics Anonymous, we help others.

Narcotics Anonymous does not promise us that we will find good jobs, loving relationships, or a fulfilling life. But when we work the Twelve Steps to the best of our ability, we find that we can become the type of people who are capable of finding employment, sustaining loving relationships, and helping others. We stop serving our disease, and begin serving God and others. The Twelve Steps are the key to transforming our lives.

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Just for Today: I will have the wisdom to use the Twelve Steps in my life, and the courage to grow in my recovery. I will practice my program to become a responsible, productive member of society.

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

04/20/2026

20 April

The Journey toward Unconditional Love

Page 114

"We greet each other with the recognition reserved for survivors of the same nearly fatal catastrophe. This shared experience, more than anything else, contributes to the atmosphere of unconditional love in our meetings."

It Works, Step Twelve

Most of us were pretty far from unconditional with our efforts to love when we first got here. One member shared, "When I first started using, drugs helped me connect with people. I would get high with anyone! I started cutting out people who got in the way of my disease, and soon I was all alone."

The members who welcome us to NA know the look of loss and alienation on our faces; they endured the same feelings we did. We empathize. For many of us, that's our first practice of unconditional love: We know each other's pain, so we offer relief no matter what differences we might have, real or perceived. Different political stance? Different football team? Different definitions of "football"? We look past these differences to see the addict, and we do our best to offer hope. The hope we offer is a form of love. In Narcotics Anonymous, we offer this love unconditionally to addicts seeking recovery.

As Step Twelve in the Basic Text mentions, "Many of us believe that a spiritual awakening is meaningless unless accompanied by an increase in peace of mind and a concern for others." The empathy we feel for other addicts is the first taste of "a concern for others" many of us get. Working Steps expands the reach of our compassion, continually allowing us to clear out the conditions we put on our willingness to love as we're ready to do so. We aspire to love unconditionally and, even when we fall short, the practice does us good.

Though the journey toward unconditional love is never-ending, compassion helps pave the way. I will embrace the journey enthusiastically 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

UNSUBSCRIBE to stop receiving all NAWS emails.

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

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

04/20/2026

20 April

Detachment

Page 114

"Addiction is a family disease, but we could only change ourselves."

❖

Many of us come from severely damaged families. At times, the insanity that reigns among our relatives feels overwhelming. Sometimes we feel like packing our bags and moving far, far away.

We pray that our family members will join us in recovery but, to our great sadness, this does not always happen. Sometimes, despite our best efforts to carry the message, we find that we cannot help those we hold most dear. Our group experience has taught us that, frequently, we are too close to our relatives to help them. We learn it is better to leave them in our Higher Power's care.

We have found that when we stop trying to settle the problems of family members, we give them the room they need to work things out in their own lives. By reminding them that we are not able to solve their problems for them, we give ourselves the freedom to live our own lives. We have faith that God will help our relatives. Often, the best thing we can give our loved ones is the example of our own ongoing recovery. For the sake of our family's sanity and our own, we must let our relatives find their own ways to recover.

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Just for Today: I will seek to work my own program and leave my family in the care of a Higher Power.

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

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