June 20: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Sophie X.

Spiritual Principle a Day for June 20, read by Sophie X.

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June 20

Willingness to Give It a Go

"Great or small, our awakenings show in our willingness to practice the principles and carry the message."

—Living Clean, Chapter 3, “Creative Action of the Spirit”

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We may have hoped for easy answers to our drug problem when we attended our first meeting. We’d hoped for a quick fix, some simple formula to provide relief from our troubled existence; with that, we could be on our way. “I was hoping you’d cast a spell on me and then send me off with a reminder to take cold showers and sleep with a chicken bone under my pillow,” one addict joked. To our disappointment, no one promised us instant liberation. Worse, it was clear that working all Twelve Steps would take some time.

Although the simple equation we sought proved elusive, we warm up to the idea that recovery is less like math and more like one of Grandma’s unwritten recipes—a little of this, some of that, and so on. Our longing for respite or connection or awakening gets us to meeting after meeting. Without our fully recognizing it, willingness shows us the way.

We hear a member celebrating 30 days clean explain, “I went to meetings every day and didn’t take anything in between.” Duly noted. Could this be the formula we were looking for? It seems almost too simple and also impossible. But maybe it’s a good start—hello, open-mindedness! We’re willing to give it a try.

As our heads start to clear, we awaken to the possibilities of a better life. We gravitate toward another formula that seems doable: “Go to meetings, get a sponsor, read the literature.” Check, check, and check. We willingly take these actions and practice humility by keeping things simple. We’re handed a pink card with the “Just for Today” reading and, as we read it aloud, another light comes on. This seemed like a practical approach and we were willing to try it.

Our experience at 30 days reveals the value of taking action. We made it this far! Holding up our keytag, we share, “I’m celebrating 30 days today because I went to meetings every day and didn’t take anything in between. I picked up the Basic Text and got a sponsor and I’m finding that there is life after drugs. As much as I wanted to figure out this recovery thing, I’m learning to just do what you do, and it seems to work.” And just like that, we’re carrying the message and offering hope to every addict in the room.

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Spiritual Principle:

No matter how many days I have, I recognize the awakening that’s evident in my willingness. I will apply spiritual principles to the work that’s in front of me and allow my example to carry the message.

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© NA World Services

This podcast is not affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous, and is an independent production of the Works of Wisdom

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is your Spiritual Principleof the Day episode featuring a
recovering addict. Hi, my name is Sophie X.

(00:25):
My clean date is December 28th, 2023.
You're listening to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is the Spiritual principle,a day passage for June 20th.
Willingness to give it a go. Great or small, our awakening is
show in our willingness to practice the principles and
carry the message. Living Clean Chapter 3 Creative

(00:48):
Action of the Spirit We may havehoped for easy answers to our
drug problem when we attended our first meeting.
We hoped for a quick fix, some simple formula to provide relief
from our troubled existence. With that, we could be on our
way. I was hoping you'd cast a spell
on me and then send me off with a reminder to take cold showers
and sleep with a chicken bone under my pillow, one addict

(01:09):
joked. To our disappointment, no one
promised us instant liberation. Worse, it was clear that working
all 12 steps would take some time, although the simple
equation we saw it proved elusive.
We warm up to the idea that recovery is less like math and
more like 1 of grandma's unwritten recipes.
A little of this, some of that, and so on.

(01:32):
Our longing for respite or connection or awakening gets us
to meeting after meeting withoutfully recognizing it.
Willingness shows us the way. We hear members celebrating. 30
days Clean explain. I went to meetings every day and
I didn't take anything in between.
Duly noted. Could this be the formula we're
looking for? It seems almost too simple, and

(01:55):
also impossible, but maybe it's a good start.
Hello, open mindedness. We're willing to give it a try.
As our heads start to clear, we awaken to the possibilities of a
better life. We gravitate toward another
formula that seems doable. Go to meetings, get a sponsor,
read the literature, Check, check, check.

(02:15):
We willingly take these actions and practice humility by keeping
things simple. We're handed a pink card with
the Just For Today reading. As we read it out loud, another
light comes on. This seemed like a practical
approach and we were willing to try it.
Our experience at 30 Days reveals the value of taking
action. We made it this far, holding up

(02:36):
our key tag we share. I'm celebrating 30 days today
because I went to meetings everyday and didn't take anything in
between. I picked up the basic text and
got a sponsor. And I'm finding that there is
life after drugs. As much as I wanted to figure
out this recovery thing, I'm learning to just do what you do,
and it seems to work. And just like that, we're

(02:57):
carrying the message and offering hope to every addict in
the room. Spiritual principle.
No matter how many days I have, I recognize the awakening that's
evident in my willingness. I will apply spiritual
principles to the work that's infront of me and allow my example
to carry the message. The Voices of Recovery Podcast

(03:21):
is an independent production of The Works of Wisdom.
We welcome your questions and donations via PayPal at
[e-mail]. This podcast is an independent
production and is not affiliatedwith, associated with,
authorized by, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected
with Narcotics Anonymous or any of its subsidiaries or

(03:43):
affiliates. While any literature may be read
during episodes for the purpose of supporting Recovery, such use
does not constitute an official endorsement or representation by
Narcotics Anonymous. In accordance with any
tradition, the NA name is not tobe used to endorse or be
affiliated with any outside enterprise, and no such
endorsement or affiliation is implied.

(04:03):
Music is by Sage. Thanks for listening to the
Voices of Recovery podcast.