October 6: Spiritual Principle a Day, read by Sabina

Spiritual Principle a Day for October 6, read by Sabina

Donations via PayPal and questions may be directed to:

[e-mail]

October 6

Safety, Security, Solidarity

"The safe environment of NA gave me the chance to face my own fear. . . . The security and solidarity that I get from the program gave me room to breathe."

—Basic Text, Coming Home, “Sandwich”

––––=––––

We aren’t all strangers to experiences of solidarity before getting clean. Frequently, however, our safety was tied to keeping our mouths shut, a code of conduct that valued secrecy over good judgment. We’d have your back, all right, as long as that kept us safe and our behavior under wraps. We were constantly looking over our shoulders, barely breathing for fear of getting caught.

Coming to NA is, on some level, a rejection of our previous sense of security, an admission that we need help. Many of us are holding our breath when we enter the room of our first NA meeting. We fear we’ll see people we had used with, people we’d wronged, people who might out us as addicts outside the meeting. Immediately, we see the appearance of solidarity in meetings, but can we trust it? We are encouraged to share about our past, what’s going on with us today, and what we envision a new life to be. But when we are used to solidarity having so many variables, how do we know it’s stable and secure now?

In time, we breathe a sigh of relief, realizing we’ve made it home. A renewed consideration of solidarity may be to view NA as a group of survivors collectively fighting our disease, bonded by our recovery. We’re told that we don’t have to go through anything alone, and, as we witness that very thing happening among members, eventually we allow ourselves to become a part of it. We strive to overcome our fears of not fitting in, of being vulnerable and intimate with others, of being honest and open and still. Sometimes we’re successful in these attempts; other times not. But, make no mistake, we are in this together, striving to make NA a safer place for every addict seeking a place to belong.

––––=––––

Spiritual Principle:

As I continue to face my own fears, now in solidarity with my fellow NA members, I will make every effort to give others the same chance to breathe that I was given.

––––=––––

© 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 Sabina.

(00:24):
My clean date is September 9th, 2000.
You're listening to the Voices of Recovery podcast.
This is the spiritual principle of the day for October 6th.
Safety, security, solidarity. The safe environment of NA gave

(00:45):
me the chance to face my own fear.
The security and solidarity thatI get from the program gave me
room to breathe. Basic text.
Coming Home Sandwich We aren't all strangers to experiences of
solidarity before getting clean Frequently, however, our safety

(01:08):
was tied to keeping our mouths shut, a code of conduct that
valued secrecy over good judgement.
We'd have your back all right, as long as that kept us safe and
our behavior under wraps. We were constantly looking over
our shoulder, barely breathing for fear of getting caught
coming to NA on some level, a rejection of our previous sense

(01:32):
of security and admission that we need help, many of us holding
our breath. As we enter the room of our
first NA meeting, we fear we'll see people we had used with,
people we'd wronged, people who might out us as addicts outside
the meeting. Immediately we see the

(01:53):
appearance of solidarity in meetings.
But can we trust it? We're encouraged to share about
our past, what's going on with us today, and what we envision a
new life to be. But when we are used to
solidarity, having so many variables, how do we know it's
stable and secure now? In time, we breathe a sigh of

(02:15):
relief, realizing we've made it home.
A renewed consideration of solidarity may be to view NA as
a group of survivors collectively fighting our
disease, bonded by our recovery.We're told that we don't have to
go through anything alone, and as we witness that very thing

(02:37):
happening among members, eventually we allow ourselves to
become a part of it. We strive to overcome our fears
of not fitting in, of being vulnerable and intimate with
others, of being honest and openand still.
Sometimes we're successful in these attempts, other times not.

(03:01):
We make no mistake, we are in this together, striving to make
NAA safer place for every addict, seeking a place to
belong spiritual principle. As I continue to face my own
fears now in solidarity with my fellow NA members, I will make

(03:23):
every effort to give others the same chance to breathe that I
was given. The Voices of Recovery Podcast
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

(03:44):
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
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

(04:06):
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.
Music is by Sage. Thanks for listening to the
Voices of Recovery podcast.