When one addict helps another, NA is there. NA is not one drug addict or the other- it is the helping, the sharing, the spirit of unity, the feeling of hope that we share with each other.
The principles that guide us, Ninth Tradition , Original text
The Ninth Tradition begins with "The NA, as it stands, should never have been organized." While it is true that there are occasions when the transmission of the NA message requires organization, what can never be organized is the spirit of our Brotherhood. The action in action of this spirit, its flow between us and within each addict as well as groups or agencies – the “as is” referred to in NA – is our interdependence. We can't orchestrate the magic that happens when one addict helps another.
We tell our stories of how we got here, against the odds, despite our prejudices and fear. By doing this we help ourselves and we help others. So is sharing our experiences of how we overcame an illness or a loss – and how we had dreams, set goals and then achieved them – or how we didn't get what we worked for and hoped we'd get but survived and from this pain. With our flaws and as human beings, we are mutually dependent on each other - we are interdependent.
We can never predict when an idea that one group has will have an impact in another corner of the world, where another group will pick it up and use it. We don't have bosses in NA, issuing orders from above - instead, our services are created as a response to the issues that arise. And the solutions to our problems come from the hard-won experiences and brand new ideas of NA recovering members. We cannot steer our way into unity, cooperation, or participation. Or in love. Instead, everyone participates in the way they are willing to do so. We are a growing, evolving whole. When we unite, we are a force greater than the disease of addiction. Interdependence is our collective return to sanity.
I will practice interdependence by leaning on others and allowing them to lean on me. NA, as it is, is only made stronger by our collective empathy, our creativity, our hope, our unity. Today I will participate in all of them.
