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Different Path to Recovery

 Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 I’ve been doing some thinking about my recovery program and I’ve decided it’s time for me to change things up a little. I love Narcotics Anonymous, and I’m grateful for everything NA has given me. But lately, I’ve felt like my recovery has become a little stale. I’m still committed to recovery, but I believe sometimes we have to be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and look at different ways of strengthening our program. Because of that, I’ve been looking into Recovery Dharma as an alternative or something I can add to what I’m already doing. I’m interested in learning something new, gaining a different perspective, and finding practices that help me continue growing spiritually and emotionally. I’ve learned that recovery isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. What works for one person may not work for another, and that’s okay. The important thing is that we keep moving forward and remain willing to do whatever is necessary to stay clean, ...

Grant Me the Serenity

  Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Those words are more than a prayer—they are a way of life in recovery. We cannot change yesterday, other people, or the things that are completely outside our control. But we can change how we respond, the choices we make, and the direction we take today. Recovery teaches us to let go of what we cannot control and put our energy into the things we can. Sometimes that means making difficult changes, admitting when we're wrong, asking for help, or simply choosing not to pick up one more time. We don't have to have everything figured out today. We just need the courage to take the next right step. When we stay connected, remain honest, and trust the process, we give ourselves another opportunity to grow. Keep moving forward, keep reaching out, and never forget how far you've already come. On...

Serenity is Entirely Free

 Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 I gotta stop worrying about things I cannot control. I guess embracing the Serenity Prayer more is in order. Sometimes we waste so much energy trying to control people, situations, outcomes, and things that were never ours to control in the first place. Meanwhile, we overlook the one thing we can control: how we respond. Recovery has taught me that peace doesn't come from having everything figured out. It comes from learning when to let go, when to take action, and when to turn something over to a Higher Power. Today, I'm going to focus on what is directly in front of me. I can control whether I stay honest. I can control whether I reach out for help. I can control whether I make the next right decision. I can control whether I choose recovery today. I don't need to solve tomorrow's problems today. I just need to stay present, stay grateful, and keep moving forward. Let go and let God. One day at a time. With love and gratitude, Gary...

ODAAT

  Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 First, let me say I'm sorry for missing the last couple of days. I usually take one day off on Sunday, but I was just getting a little bit too burned out, which leads me into my message for this morning: one day at a time. Such a simple phrase. Man, it's powerful. Some days I can only take it one day at a time. You know, I would like to think I'm capable of taking about a week at a time, but I'm not. I only got today. I can only promise myself today that I'm not going to use. I can't say anything about tomorrow or the day after, or even worry about yesterday. All I know is I've got right now, and I can do right now. Because anything more seems too vast. I can't promise you that I'm never going to get high again, because that's just too much. I don't know what I would do if I tried to carry that kind of promise around with me. It seems like a Herculean task. But what I've got is today. I can pro...

HALT: Hungry Angry Lonely and Tired

  Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 I want to talk about one of the four things in HALT : Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired. Today, I want to focus on anger . Being self-aware of our anger is extremely important in recovery because anger can lead us down a lot of different roads. We can say something in the heat of the moment that hurts someone we love. We can make a decision we wouldn't normally make. We can get the “fuck-its” and stop caring about the consequences of our actions. Learning to recognize anger before it takes control is a big part of recovery. We have to be willing to pause, take a step back, and honestly ask ourselves, “What's really going on with me right now?” Recovery isn't just about putting down the drugs. It's about learning how to live differently. That means learning how to deal with uncomfortable emotions without allowing them to control our behavior. We don't have to be perfect. We just have to be willing to recognize when we're ...

Recovery is Selfish

  Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 Recovery is a very personal thing for me, and I have to be very selfish in my recovery. I have to do the things I need to do to put myself and my recovery first. Because if I put something before my recovery, it will eventually be the first thing I lose. That doesn't mean I don't care about my family, my friends, or the people around me. It means I have to understand that I can't be the person I need to be for anyone else if I'm not taking care of myself and protecting my recovery first. For me, that means staying connected, going to meetings, talking to my sponsor, working the steps, being honest, and staying willing to do the things that keep me moving forward. Recovery requires action. It's not something I can put on the back burner and expect to be there when I need it. Every day gives us another opportunity to make the right choice, learn from yesterday, and keep moving forward. We don't have to have everything figu...

Getting Burned Out

  Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 So, the last couple of days I've been struggling a little bit. I've been feeling kind of burned out with recovery. Honestly, it has started to feel monotonous and stale. Sometimes I think we can get so comfortable doing the same thing over and over that we forget recovery is supposed to be about living, growing, and changing. I think I need to change things up. Going to the same meeting every day, every day, every day, every day, every day can start to feel old. So I'm going to get out of my comfort zone and start going to more in-person meetings. I'm going to meet some different people, hear different experiences, and do things a little differently. But here's the important part: just because recovery feels stale doesn't mean I'm quitting recovery. Sometimes we don't need to walk away from the process—we just need to approach it differently. I have to trust the process. When things start feeling difficult, bor...

Radical Acceptance

  Brothers and Sisters in Recovery 🙏 Radical acceptance is the foundation of recovery. And that goes hand in hand with surrender. Before you can surrender, you have to accept. I accept the fact that I'm an addict. As much as I hate to admit it, I am. I accept the fact that I'm not good at everything, even though I know a little bit about everything. Acceptance doesn't mean that I have to like everything about my life or everything that has happened to me. It simply means that I stop fighting reality. I can't change yesterday, I can't control other people, and I can't always control what happens around me. What I can control is how I respond. For me, surrender means putting down the fight and being willing to do something different. It means admitting when I'm wrong, asking for help when I need it, and being willing to listen instead of always thinking I have the answer. Recovery has taught me that I don't have to have everything figured out today. I...