JUST FOR TODAY - 5th February 2026

Keep Coming Back!

“We are grateful that we were made so welcome at meetings that we felt comfortable.”

~ Basic Text p. 80 ~

Remember how scared we were when we walked into our first NA meeting? Even if we walked in with a friend, most of us recall how difficult it was to attend that first meeting. What was it that kept us coming back? Most of us have grateful memories of the welcome we were given and how comfortable that made us feel. When we raised our hand as a newcomer, we opened the door for other members to approach us and welcome us.

Sometimes the difference between those addicts who walk back out the door of their first meeting, never to return to NA, and the addicts who stay to seek recovery is the simple hug of an NA member. When we have been clean awhile, it’s easy to step back from the procession of newcomers—after all, we’ve seen so many people come and go. But members with some clean time can make the difference between the addict who doesn’t return and the addict who keeps coming back. By offering our phone numbers, a hug, or just a warm welcome, we extend the hand of Narcotics Anonymous to the addict who still suffers.

Just for today: I remember the welcome I was given when I first came to NA. Today, I will express my gratitude by offering a hug to a newcomer.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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KEEP COMING BACK— IT WORKS IF YOU WORK IT

Fortitude

A popular self-help book noted that there is tremendous power in repetition—like the tap-tap-tap of a hammer that finally drives the nail through a board. AA works in much the same way; attendance at meetings is the steady tap-tap- tap that helps bring about lasting sobriety and personal improvement.

Attending meetings is also much like attending school. Nobody learns everything in one classroom session, and it’s also true that the student must put forth an effort to learn.

We should accept AA as something that will gradually grow on us if we become part of it and apply ourselves to its principles. The willingness to continue attending meetings is some evidence of sincerity and commitment. We discover that there are few meetings that bring us world-shaking revelations and experiences, but as we keep coming back and working the program, our own lives will improve steadily. This is the result of many meetings, not just a few.

I’ll do everything possible today to strengthen my sobriety and my understanding of the program. Rather than seeking shortcuts, I’ll be grateful for steady progress.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation 

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Keep Coming Back!

“We are grateful that we were made so welcome at meetings that we felt comfortable.”

~ Basic Text p. 80 ~

Remember how scared we were when we walked into our first NA meeting? Even if we walked in with a friend, most of us recall how difficult it was to attend that first meeting. What was it that kept us coming back? Most of us have grateful memories of the welcome we were given and how comfortable that made us feel. When we raised our hand as a newcomer, we opened the door for other members to approach us and welcome us.

Sometimes the difference between those addicts who walk back out the door of their first meeting, never to return to NA, and the addicts who stay to seek recovery is the simple hug of an NA member. When we have been clean awhile, it’s easy to step back from the procession of newcomers—after all, we’ve seen so many people come and go. But members with some clean time can make the difference between the addict who doesn’t return and the addict who keeps coming back. By offering our phone numbers, a hug, or just a warm welcome, we extend the hand of Narcotics Anonymous to the addict who still suffers.

Just for today: I remember the welcome I was given when I first came to NA. Today, I will express my gratitude by offering a hug to a newcomer.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

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Keep Coming Back!

“Meetings keep us in touch with where we’ve been, but more importantly with where we could go in our recovery.”
Basic Text, p. 54

In many ways, addicts are different. When we came to Narcotics Anonymous we found others like ourselves, people who understood us and whom we could understand. No longer did we feel like aliens, strangers wherever we went. We were at home in NA meetings, among friends.

We don’t stop being addicts after we’ve been clean awhile. We still need to identify with other addicts. We continue coming to NA meetings to keep in touch with who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we’re going. Every meeting reminds us that we can never use drugs successfully. Every meeting reminds us that we’ll never be cured, but that by practicing the principles of the program we can recover. And every meeting offers us the experience and example of other addicts in ongoing recovery.

At meetings, we see how different people work their program, and the results are apparent in their lives. If we want the lives we see others living, we can find out what they’ve done to get where they are. Narcotics Anonymous meetings offer us identification with where we’ve been and where we can go — identification we can’t do without and can’t get anywhere else. That keeps us coming back.

Just for today: I will attend an NA meeting to remind myself of who I am, where I’ve come from, and where I can go in my recovery. 

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Keep Coming Back


“We have come to enjoy living clean and want more of the good things that the NA fellowship holds for us”

Basic Text p. 26

Can you remember a time when you looked at the addicts recovering in NA and wondered, “If they aren’t using drugs what on earth do they have to laugh about?” Did you believe that the fun stoped when the using stopped? So many of us did. We were certain that we were leaving the good life behind. Today many of us can laugh at that misconception because we know how full our life in recovery can be.

Many of the things we enjoy so much in recovery are gained by actively participating in the fellowship of NA. We begin to find true companionship, friends who understand and care about us just for ouselves. We find a place where we can be useful to others. There are recovery meetings, service activities, and fellowship gatherings to fill out time and accupy our interests. The fellowship can be a mirror to reflect back to us a more acurate imagine of who we are. We find teachers, helpers, friends, love, care,and support. The fellowship always has more to offer us, as long as we keep coming back.

Just for today: I know where the good life is. I’ll keep coming back.

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Just For Today

Keep Coming Back

“We don’t have to be clean when we get here but, after the first meeting, we suggest that newcomers keep coming back and come back clean. We don’t have to wait for an overdose or a jail sentence to get help from Narcotics.” 

Basic Text, p. 10

Very few of us arrive in NA brimming with willingness. Some of us are here because we are court-ordered to attend. Some have come to save our families. Some come in an effort to salvage a career teetering on the brink of ruin. It doesn’t matter why we are here. It only matters that we are.

We have heard it said that “if we bring the body, the mind will follow.” We may come to meetings with a chip on our shoulders. We may be one of those who sits in the back of the rooms with our arms folded across our chest, glaring threateningly at anyone who approaches us. Perhaps we leave before the final prayer.

But if we keep coming back, we find that our minds begin to open up. We start to drop our guard, and begin to really listen when others share. We may even hear someone talking with whom we can relate. We begin the process of change.

After some time in NA, we find that more than our minds have arrived in our meeting rooms. More importantly, our hearts have arrived, too. After that happens, the miracles really begin.

Just for today: I will strive to listen with an open mind to what I hear shared.

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Just For Today #essentialsofrec #NA #Recovery #Addiction

Keep Coming Back

“We don’t have to be clean when we get here but, after the first meeting, we suggest that newcomers keep coming back and come back clean. We don’t have to wait for an overdose or a jail sentence to get help from Narcotics.” 

Basic Text, p. 10

Very few of us arrive in NA brimming with willingness. Some of us are here because we are court-ordered to attend. Some have come to save our families. Some come in an effort to salvage a career teetering on the brink of ruin. It doesn’t matter why we are here. It only matters that we are.

We have heard it said that “if we bring the body, the mind will follow.” We may come to meetings with a chip on our shoulders. We may be one of those who sits in the back of the rooms with our arms folded across our chest, glaring threateningly at anyone who approaches us. Perhaps we leave before the final prayer.

But if we keep coming back, we find that our minds begin to open up. We start to drop our guard, and begin to really listen when others share. We may even hear someone talking with whom we can relate. We begin the process of change.

After some time in NA, we find that more than our minds have arrived in our meeting rooms. More importantly, our hearts have arrived, too. After that happens, the miracles really begin.

Just for today: I will strive to listen with an open mind to what I hear shared.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec