persons have visited this site since May 1, 2002
~ 2006 Form ~
"Our
common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on NA unity."
Common welfare is what we share in common through NA.
Commonality of purpose and spirit gives us the positive lift and attitude that
won't say "no" when an addict is asking for help. Being part of
something is very important. Being accepted as we are and made to feel welcome
as ourselves instead of in spite of ourselves is something the group owes to all
addicts seeking recovery. The common welfare we are all striving for is the
ability to stay clean just for today and this unites us all in our common good.
We can be an example to others by applying the principles of the 12 steps in our
personal lives and living in the solution to our problem.
Sometimes an atmosphere of dissention prevails in our groups over an
atmosphere of recovery. While this sad truth cannot be denied, obviously it is
not what produces our common welfare. It is just an instance of people being
people instead of members showing gratitude. Unity, group purpose, is the idea
of 'we feel' as opposed to 'I feel'; 'we want' as opposed to 'I want.' For many
of us this subjugation of personal wants is frightening. Certainly, for those of
us who have suffered greatly at the hands of others, this may be too much to
ask; at least until working the Twelve Steps grants them the freedom to
participate. Surrender doesn't require a loss of individuality. The results are
found in the furthering of our group purpose and that is simply carrying our
message that we do recover.
There are times when we may disagree with a group conscience decision
and we may have to surrender to the majority. We can still feel unified with the
whole as long as we remember what we have in common and don't let issues divide
us. As long as the choice was made by a well-informed group, it is every
member�s duty to support the group�s conscience. We may present our concerns
and ask the chair to re-conduct the vote but in the end, group conscience must
be a final answer. We cannot allow our will to interfere with the common
welfare.
Individuals are strengthened by the answers they find in NA to their
living problems. The support exchanged with other addicts in recovery supplies
just what is needed, when it is needed if we have lowered our defenses,
specifically admitted our need for help and allowed ourselves to become part of
NA. Many of our answers seem to come 'right on schedule.'
Our common welfare depends on NA and group unity. So often when people
let personalities and opinions get in the way we stray away from our primary
purpose. Many say, "It hurts when I see people attend their home groups and
have the commitment to fill trusted servant positions." It is so very
important that the groups stick together and stay focused on our primary
purpose. We cannot keep what we have unless we give it away. When a newcomer
walks into a meeting, it is confusing enough to he or she as it is. It is of the
utmost importance that the group maintain an atmosphere of recovery. We need to
be committed to the program that saved our life and further helps us to live
clean productive lives. It is most imperative that the newcomers see this. We
all need to remember that we are all the same and common welfare should come
first. We cannot carry the mess, but we can carry the message. No addict need
suffer any longer and a newcomer should not have to be any more confused than
they are at their first meeting.
Compliance or noncompliance with any principle in NA is a
matter best left to the conscience of the individual, as influenced by the God
of their understanding. With this in mind, we are free to practice acceptance,
patience, and tolerance towards one another. The unity called for in our First
Tradition can be threatened when our principles are compromised by fear of
diversity. Our diversity is our strength, the broader our base, the higher our
point of freedom. Whenever we do not accept others as they are and attempt to
exert our will on them to conform, it is often we, who are doing the unity of
our fellowship the greater harm.
Many times it will seem like all the members in the world stand on two or more
clearly separate sides. If you're aware of something like this happening, you
can serve by seeking out the third and fourth sides to the argument. WE are
quick to forget that a lot of people have knowledge they never get to share.
There are always more than two sides to a question and if internal tension and
strife is too much for the member, he or she can find other members with common
interests to work their Twelfth Step. We learn to look for the `third side' to
an argument that is usually composed of people who don't want to pick sides and
have other goals and objectives.
The Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous, as implemented in the
lives of each of our members, are often viewed as his or her personal recovery.
Our spiritual connection with each other�s personal recovery creates one of
the strongest ties binding us together. Eventually, every member who has
suffered the horrors of addiction and gains hope of recovery understands the
necessity and vitality of a spiritual way of life. As this awakening of the
spirit occurs and flourishes, so does our unity. As we apply the Twelve Steps in
our lives as a design for living, we open the door to humility.
The concept of group unity plays an important role in the 1st Tradition.
The value of strength in numbers is evident throughout NA. Support among addicts
helps us to better understand that some individuality can be detrimental to our
recovery. Although we may be destructive independently, we are able to gather
strength from cooperation. Isolation for addicts leads to dissention, as we
separate ourselves from our group, we are actually weakening the group and
hurting ourselves at the same time. Each member of our fellowship has something
to offer; as he/she separates, one less offering has been eliminated. Even this
cannot destroy the group effort, but it does nothing to add strength. From
strength in group unity, we gain momentum, building stronger foundation to lean
on in times of need. For newcomers, this is important. Becoming a part of a
group effort brings addicts out of their shell, while at the same time, raising
the possibility of adding positive support to the fellowship of NA.
Surrendering to our false belief of self-sufficiency, we being to
recognize that we need people. We need each other in order to grow. After a
period, we see that "dueling egos" and disunity damages us emotionally
and spiritually. Surrendering to the WE of group conscience enables us to become
more unified. Unity not only assists the group to become more functional, it
assists the member to grow. If personal recovery depends on NA unity, then NA
unity must depend on personal recovery. This is why members feel, "I am
hopeless every time my disease drives me into self-centeredness. I suffer alone
in my own mind. The awareness of the need for my efforts to be based on the
common welfare always brings me out of self and out of pain." Surrendering
me to NA is a process that underlies all my work in the steps and traditions.
"I can not count on anyone.
I am alone. I must do it myself." This is what our disease tells us. WRONG!
By daily practicing dependence, our trust, faith and hope grow within us and
become a part of our personality. Then we can freely give these things to those
who reach out to us. Addicts are plagued with communication disabilities. What
we may think of as the `good of all' may be true within certain bounds yet
untrue in a larger context. In recovery, we constantly double check our thinking
and update our inventories."
Tradition One asks us to overlook the differences that may
divide us and focus on our common identity as unified and equal members of a
greater whole. It is through this commonality that one begins to understand how
the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. Each part has its own
uniqueness, a difference necessary to fit exactly where God had intended it,
just for today.
What we share is what others have gathered to help us meet our needs. It is not
`ours' in the possessive sense, only ours in the sense we can access it by
remaining humble and respectful to those who came before us and interested and
helpful to those who replace us as the most important people as we grow into
being those who can help. Intriguing stories of how members pick up unexpected
benefits without seeking them or even thinking of personal gain abound in our
Fellowship. Other stories tell a different tale of wonder. If we slip back into
selfishness and calculate our surrender so we don't lose touch with our old
ways, we can stay sick a long time. Insanity in terms of the first tradition is
thinking we own what we have been freely given. We are are custodians with the
special added attraction of being able to increase what we receive so that
others can receive until they discover the strength to give.
Any organization exists to provide something important for its members.
Without our people, we would have nothing to do. While we do all we can to keep
the program truthful and attractive, we have to provide sufficient guidance to
insure the spiritual integrity of our way of life. It is hard to remember that
there are addicts hurting beside us and behind us as well as ahead of us. It is
time we go slowly and take the time necessary to express our real caring and
sharing. Sometimes prayer just gives us the power to slow down.
Sometimes the Fellowship is sidetracked by rhetoric and misleading
information. Our disease seems to inspire this sort of thing. Responding with
counter accusations would only serve to further confuse matters. Going slow and
trying to do God's will on a daily basis will always win out in the end. Short
cuts and trickery will never get us what we want: A clean life, free from the
obsessions and compulsions of active addiction in any form it may take. Being
real and honest about this is how we find our way through the temptations and
illusions of daily life.
As long as choices are made by a well-informed group, all is well. How
often is this the case? Are we not often too too biased towards doing things our
way, to allow for contrary views? Many definitions of the word political are
functional having to do with group processes. The definition that applies to
dysfunction relates to partisan politics, where competition becomes more
important than contribution to the general welfare. How do we insure
communication does not break down between groups and other service entities? The
answer is we do not, cannot, assure this without installing the machinery of
government and that would destroy our spiritual unity forever. Instead, we do
what we can to spread goodwill and sensibility among the members with whom we
come in contact and stay clean ourselves.
WE must be courageous in presenting ideas that may appear to not be
acceptable or popular. We might have the perception that clears up or unifies
everyone else's thoughts. Different is not wrong. Different is just different.
Acceptance of what our courage generates comes next.
If our strength is in our diversity, it is crucial to
avoid any illusion of sameness. Addicts are and always will be enormously
creative in their many approaches to getting what they really want. No one style
of recovery is correct. We need our philosophers and our anti-intellectuals. We
need our socially flamboyant members and our staid conservatives. Most
importantly, we need you.
The Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous is a society, or
culture, like few others in the world today. There are no masters or rulers
demanding obedience, only leaders and servants inviting respect. Though this may
seem difficult to understand in a world accustomed to societies organized by
relative, economic, or geographic boundaries; ours is simply not as such. NA is
made up of people with a common problem � addiction, and a common solution �
The Twelve Steps. Unlike other societies, NA members need no human authority to
maintain order; the punishment we would give ourselves through a relapse is far
greater than any government could ever administer. Each member will eventually
begin living the principles necessary to ensure their daily reprieve.
Our common welfare hinges not so much on our ability to impose uniformity as it
does with every individual member�s willingness to surrender any defect
standing in the way of unconditional love and acceptance of our fellows. Unity
is love, family, and the NA way of life. Working together to love one another,
we have a better chance at helping the next suffering addict stop using, lose
the desire to use, and find a new way to live.
[11.29.05]
persons have visited this site since May 1, 2002
Reprinted from the
N.A. FELLOWSHIP USE ONLY
Copyright � December 1998
Victor Hugo Sewell, Jr.
N.A. Foundation Group
1516 B Live Oak Drive
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
[email protected]
All rights reserved. This draft may be copied by members of Narcotics Anonymous for the purpose of writing input for future drafts, enhancing the recovery of NA members and for the general welfare of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship as a whole. The use of an individual name is simply a registration requirement of the Library of Congress and not a departure from the spirit or letter of the Pledge, Preface or Introduction of this book. Any reproduction by individuals or organizations outside the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous is prohibited. Any reproduction of this document for personal or corporate monetary gain is prohibited.
Last update March 27, 2007