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When It Works: 12 Basics
Twelve Principles of NA
PRINCIPLE SIX - WILLINGNESS
Note:
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Our Middletown, Connecticut NAWOL group is honored to be part of the
process. We have no expectations
other than staying in the process and possibly helping other addicts.
"Willingness to try is the beginning of doing our part.
However grand or humble
that might be, it is a state of readiness replacing depression and
anxiety."
Willingness
is a
principle vital because it
allows us to get a grip on the fact that before change can occur; we have to
give our permission. We have to stop holding aback
inside. We have to relax our personal will, with all its
preconceptions and preferences,
so we can look at every alternatives.
When we want to select something new in our lives,
the
choice is up to us it
is our responsibility to make a decision.
Without our willingness, we never get to make the choice.,
and We remain tied up in many of our past limitations, illusions and
habits.
The drive for
personal
gain in all its forms is any form of personal gain is based
on a personal
fear of not
having enough to meet our being unable to satisfy our
wants or needs.
Past
a reasonable amount Eventually, this
drive becomes obsessive and can create problems. In our pasts,
we were always losing things. and
Replacement
was a constant
nagging persistent problem. Our constant
efforts to find and get more of the chemicals pushed us into a world of
betrayal, deceit and treachery. Addiction had enslaved us. As clean addicts, we
begin to learn the living skills we will need in recovery.
When
desperation born of obsessive need for
and compulsive usage of drugs is removed, what is left to drive us? How do we
manage? What is important enough to us now to keep us going? It
may be similar to post traumatic shock syndrome where soldiers become
emotionally and psychologically scarred by their experiences and have trouble
adjusting to normal, civilian life. When our lives are washed clean of the more conspicuous aspects of
our addiction, what do we do? Do we become addicted to people, places and
things? Do we substitute cravings for money, property and the good opinion of
others in place of the old obsessions? Do we trade one obvious form of addiction
for another that may be harder to detect as a living problem? We can be just as
enslaved by work, gambling, and all other mood changers. That's
the thing, see?
Recovery is about changing our_selves not our moods.
Many,
many of us have done
this. Recovery from the disease of addiction hasn't been around long enough for
all the repercussions to be taken into account. One thing seems safe enough to
advance at this point though: swapping addictions won't work. Real freedom
consists of being able to live without fear and pain. In NA, we stress
constantly that spiritual principles are necessary for ongoing recovery.
A
lot of us grow complacent after the initial thrill of being drug free wears off.
We want more. We isolate ourselves and hide our feelings from others - perhaps
through a misguided fear of disapproval or maybe we're letting our addiction
guide us into another pathway the disease is known to take. At times, something
needs to shake us into remembering that to recover.
We go deeper and deeper into
the spiritual principles, beginning with surrender. Again, and again, we
surrender to our need for help. It
This
opens the way to growth.
The
capacity to do our part in severing the ties to the past, our personal defects
of character, brings us to the threshold of a new inner freedom. All we can do
on our own is become willing to let the God of our understanding take over what
is otherwise impossible for us.
Games
of acquisition, control, manipulation, sabotage, projection, worry, revenge,
resentment, blame assessment and character assassination are no longer necessary
for those in the care of a loving God. The willingness to live in His will frees us from
these defense mechanisms and so much more. The
elimination of these and other defense mechanisms, frees up enormous amounts of
time and energy.
Our
willingness is really an extension of our initial surrender. For us to `come to
believe' in a power greater than ourselves who can and will take care of our
wills and our lives, we have to gain some understanding. Our old defenses grew
up in the isolation, loneliness, despair and feelings of worthlessness that are
the progression of our disease. A new life comes from learning new ways.
We
will learn the infinite power of the truth. Truth is powerful because it fits in
with reality. We will base our actions and goals on the miracles we find
in recovery. Most, if not all, recovering addicts can remember numerous
occasions where the principles of NA and recovery just didn't seem adequate. We
went forward on faith and found our prior fears unjustified. Crisis after crisis
failed to get us loaded or rob us of our inner faith and growing convictions.
Even where we were forced to pay for crimes committed while we were still using,
many of our members have been able to stay clean through incarceration. Severe
medical problems have failed to assure relapse where our members were able to
apply spiritual principles to the obstacles in their paths. They were honest
about their situation, asked for help, and let a loving God take of their life
and will. It takes willingness to do this.
Money,
property and prestige have the power to seduce addicts in recovery. It is easy
to mistake the desire for personal gain for a blessing of recovery. Many of us
who have sought these things to the exclusion of prayer, faith and meditation
share in pain and desperation the addictive nature of these delusions. Instead
of making us happy, they turned out to be elaborate, attractive, socially
acceptable traps.
Those
who are able to withstand these temptations, succeeded by incredible luck, the
direct application of spiritual principles and the grace of God. Somehow,
in their hearts, they remained desirous of more recovery and maintained a
spiritual way of life.
Many of us are able to reject these temptations. We succeed through the direct
application of spiritual principles and the willingness to allow a loving God to
work in our lives. In our hearts, we desire more recovery. We maintain a
spiritual way of life.
The Sixth Tradition points out the danger to recovery that lies in money, property and prestige. Excess funds, obsessive accumulation of property and a concern with what others think of us threatens our spirituality. Where these things are seen as more real or more important than the God of our understanding, recovery fails. Willingness comes easier when we are hurting. Consider how much better willingness can work when it doesn't have to overcome resistance!
These things ever divide and rarely unite people. Only with great humility, patience and tolerance have we survived the divisive, dispiriting effects of these three where we have grown - either as individuals or as local Fellowships. It takes good character to withstand a 'storm' of good things happening.
While some of our guidelines, Traditions and policies of inclusion and openness may have seemed to hamper some of our members, the truth is that they only hamper our defects of character! These principles protect and to a certain extent assure our common welfare. Just as spiritual principles don't conflict with one another, we cannot be open and honest while being sneaky and manipulative. Where spiritual principles fall into disuse and are seen as less important than NA `business', it is hard to tell the difference between members of our Fellowship and members of outside organizations. Spiritual principles guide our movements and can guide us past traps and the pitfalls that may lie ahead. The preoccupation with making a profit and insuring a paycheck takes precedence over keeping faith with the Fellowship. Keeping faith can be made to seem so relative when in fact it is our basic building block.
Those who put personal concerns ahead of our common welfare should be hampered. Recovery and service are not just about efficiency. God does not have a Timex! The willingness to allow God to use you as an instrument is crucial for addicts in recovery. Yet, there is a big difference in the quality of feelings that come from selfless service as compared to selfish attempts to control others. Perhaps the way to tell one from the other is to look for signs of surrender as opposed to signs of pushiness.
Willingness
is open-mindedness in action. It is the way we feel before we take actions based
on faith. As we personally become able to let go of defects through willingness,
we are able to put spiritual integrity ahead of our
desire for instant gratification. When we pray for the willingness to do
whatever it takes to recover, we know that we never have to use again no matter
what! concerns
for money, property and
prestige. It
is easy for people with training and experience in organizational efforts to
assume our policies and principles are just windor dressing on the automatic
biological improvements that occur when we stop using. Believe us, we have been
though painful learning experiences that convince us that group conscience, open
and above board is the only way to go!
[7.25.08]
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Copyright � December 1998
Victor Hugo Sewell, Jr.
NA Foundation Group
6685 Bobby John Road Atlanta, GA 30349 USA
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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.