GBR (Gray Book Reflection)
Input and review material
6/4
“Our negative sense of self was replaced by a positive concern for others.”
Gray Book, p. 26
Lines 26-27
Chapter Three
Our Basic Text tells us that our whole lives, one way or another, became centered in drugs. It appeared that our personalities and who we were dissipated with each run. Like tornadoes, we became self-centered, as we ripped through people’s lives. We were harming ourselves the most by neglecting our own responsibilities. One of our members stated that, “Addiction altered my behaviour. Reality became uncomfortable, eventually intolerable. I needed more and more drugs to survive. When I was under the influence of drugs, honesty and integrity were less important and often inconvenient. Between ‘runs’, honesty and integrity were burdens that would have prevented getting more drugs and the relief I needed.” Lost and spiritually broke we found ourselves in Narcotics Anonymous. Here, we came in contact with others that were in the same place we were at one time. These members of Narcotics Anonymous showed us unconditional love. They told us we didn’t need to hurt anymore. They told us that they had found freedom, from the horrors of active addiction. Their hugs, along with the wordless language of empathy, became the beginning of our healing process. This new way to live became our new way of life. Freedom from active addiction gave us a sense of self. Our relationship with reality was the start of our recovery. The spiritual principles of Narcotics Anonymous were the end of our isolation. We were given this precious gift freely. The only condition to keep this precious gift was to give it away freely without charge. Through the results of our spiritual awakening we developed a natural concern for others. We began to feel adequate and worthy. Most importantly we were capable of helping others.
In This Moment; The strange paradox of keeping what we have by giving it away, became a normal way of life for us.