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Picture
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this
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a Basic Text that reflects the global
diversity
of the NA Fellowship |
Have you sent a submission
to the Basic Text project yet?
For the
first time in more than twenty years we are gathering personal
experiences from NA members to include in the Basic Text. The 2004
WSC passed a motion to replace “some or all” of the personal
stories, and we are collecting submissions until the end of
December.
Since the
Basic Text was first published we have expanded from fewer than
3,000 meetings, mostly in the US, to more than 30,000 in over 100
countries. We have grown in every way—the places we live, the
diversity of our membership, our recovery experience.
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We need your help to put together a collection of personal
experiences
that will capture the
richness of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship today. |
You
don’t have to write down everything that’s happened to you.
Maybe you struggled to develop a relationship with a Higher
Power or had a breakthrough at two years clean. Perhaps you
confronted a defect at a point in your recovery where you
thought, “I can’t believe I am struggling with this when I
have xx years clean!” |
Maybe you are an atheist, single parent, celebrity, veteran. Maybe
you have something to say about coping with illness in recovery,
what it was like to start NA in your community, or going back to
school. Perhaps you relapsed and finally “got it.” Or perhaps you
were able to stay clean the moment you joined NA, but confronted
your disease in other ways.
Share your
experience; tell us what happened and how NA’s spiritual principles
got you through. You don’t have to write like a professional or make
it sound like you think literature is “supposed to” sound. We want
your experience in your voice and your words.
We hope
you’ll also urge others you know to send us their experience. So
many of us won’t write anything unless someone else helps to
motivate us—it’s no different from getting a first service position
or a sponsor; a lot of people need encouragement to take action.
Some members will see the call for submissions and think, “What a
great idea, but they’re not really talking to me.” You can do more
than we can to convince those members that, yes, we are talking to
them.
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Maybe you can work together by reading each other’s writing
and giving feedback.
And don’t forget to follow up. You’ll
probably need to talk to the same people more than once
before they’ll write and
submit something. |
Can
you
personally ask at least two people to submit something?
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Another way
to get people interested and motivated is to hold a workshop. We
have sample formats for workshops posted on the website. The shorter
workshop is a sharing session to inspire people to submit something
to the Basic Text project. We’ve used this format and can tell you
it’s fun and moving and gives everyone involved a chance to get to
know each other (and themselves) better. The longer session, which
can be a half or full day, builds from the first one and includes an
actual writing workshop. These are just some ideas for how to stir
up interest and enthusiasm in your area. Use your imagination.
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“When we
honestly tell our own story, someone else may identify with
us.”
Basic Text, page 95
So…send us your experience. Help someone. |
Whether
you’re recovering at a campout in Virginia or an ancient church in
Nicaragua, you have experience to share that could help someone
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While visiting in Nicaragua
While on a mission trip in León, Nicaragua, I found an NA
meeting at this beautiful cathedral built in 1786. What a
wonderful feeling to be so far away from home and yet feel
at home! |
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Knowing there were fellow addicts near me was comforting. At
home I attend meetings in the new wing of a hospital and at
a university, so it was awesome to see a meeting in such a
different setting. We truly are one united family, despite
geographic, cultural, and language differences.
Holly T, Michigan, USA
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BRANA
This photo is from the 23rd annual Blue Ridge Area NA
campout, held at Natural Chimneys Regional Park in Mount
Solon, Virginia, USA. This campout was the first major NA
function in Virginia, preceding the Region of the Virginias
Convention by about six months. In 2004, 204 recovering
addicts attended the campout.
Dan W, Virginia, USA |
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