Welcome to the Central Coast Area of Narcotics Anonymous
Serving: Paso Robles, Cambria, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, Lompoc
" The therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel "
Just for today daily meditation
October 11, 2026 |
Eyeglasses and attitudes |
| Page 297 |
| "Our best thinking got us into trouble...Recovery is an active change in our ideas and attitudes." |
| Basic Text, p. 55 |
| In active addiction, the world probably looked like a horrible place. Using helped us tolerate the world we saw. Today, however, we understand that the world's condition wasn't really the problem. It was our ideas and attitudes about the world that made it impossible for us to find a comfortable place in it. Our attitudes and our ideas are the eyeglasses through which we see our lives. If our "glasses" are smudged or dirty, our lives look dim. If our attitudes aren't well focused, the whole world appears distorted. To see the world clearly, we need to keep our attitudes and ideas clean, free of things like resentment, denial, self-pity, and closed-mindedness. To insure our vision of life is in focus, we have to bring our ideas in line with reality. In addiction, our best thinking kept us from clearly seeing either the world or our part in it. Recovery serves to correct the prescriptions in our attitudinal eyewear. By stripping away our denial and replacing it with faith, self-honesty, humility, and responsibility, the steps help us see our lives in a whole new way. Then the steps help us keep our spiritual lenses clean, encouraging us to regularly examine our ideas, our attitudes, and our actions. Today, seen through the clean lenses of faith and recovery the world looks like a warm, inviting place to live. |
| Just for Today: I will view the world and my life through the clean spiritual lenses of my program. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2026, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
A Spiritual principle a day
October 12, 2026 |
Practicality in Action |
| Page 295 |
| "It's not what we think about our recovery that matters; it's what we do." |
| Living Clean, Chapter 1: Living Clean, Opening Essay |
| When we first come into recovery, we may think everyone in the room is lying. A member recalled thinking, "They can't possibly be that happy . . . and really, no one can stay clean for 30 years, let alone 30 days in a row." We may even tell ourselves there is no way we can stop using and have a fulfilling life. Despite our internal monologue, we continue showing up to meetings and putting some cleantime together. We take suggestions, pick up a commitment, get a sponsor, and begin working Steps--all the while thinking, This won't work for me. We do our best to ignore that devious little voice inside us. After all, what we have been doing up to this point hasn't really been working either. As we take these practical actions, the heaviness lifts from our hearts. We experience moments of joy and freedom--clean. We realize that we have been doing all of the things we'd told ourselves were not possible. Now we have six months clean and our lives are so much fuller than we thought they could be. When we share in meetings, we realize that we've become those people who we thought were lying to us. One of the most practical things we do is to show up and tell the truth about our lives. When we no longer need to fabricate stories and justifications, it frees up a lot of mental energy. We share our victories, our process, and our mess as they are happening. While the disease still talks to us, nowadays our recovery also chimes in to remind us that we're right where we're supposed to be. Doing the footwork frees us to live in the present. We have a solid foundation and a network of connections in our recovery community. Our world has become fuller and more fulfilling. We have found a family in Narcotics Anonymous. We want more of these gifts, so we continue to put one foot in front of the other, doing the things that brought us to this point. |
| I will take a practical approach to my recovery today. I'll thank "the committee" in my head for sharing and take positive actions that enhance my recovery and my life. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2026, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
WHAT IS THE NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS PROGRAM?
NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. We suggest that you keep an open mind and give yourself a break. Our program is a set of principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing about them is that they work.
For more information on Narcotics Anonymous,
please go to the:
Narcotics Anonymous World Services Website,
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