Pre-registration for FSRCNA XXXI “Keys to Freedom” is open!
FREESTATE REGIONAL CONVENTION XXXI “KEYS TO FREEDOM!” NOVEMBER 28 – 30, 2025Hyatt-Regency Inner Harbor300 Light Street | Baltimore, Maryland ALL
Welcome to the Northwest Area of Narcotics Anonymous! We are a community of individuals who have come together to support one another in our journey of recovery from addiction. Our doors are open to anyone seeking a safe and supportive environment to begin or continue their path of recovery. We invite you to explore our website and learn more about the resources and events we offer. Together, we can overcome the challenges of addiction and find the strength to live a fulfilling, drug-free life.
When at the end of the road we find that we can no longer function as a human being, either with or without drugs, we all face the same dilemma. What is there left to do? There seems to be this alternative: either go on as best we can to the bitter ends—jails, institutions, or death—or find a new way to live. In years gone by, very few addicts ever had this last choice. Those who are addicted today are more fortunate. For the first time in man’s entire history, a simple way has been proving itself in the lives of many addicts. It is available to us all. This is a simple spiritual—not religious—program, known as Narcotics Anonymous.
Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. We suggest that you keep an open mind and give yourself a break. Our program is a set of principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing about them is that they work. We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean.
December 10, 2025 |
Winners |
| Page 360 |
| "I started to imitate some of the things the winners were doing. I got caught up in NA. I felt good...." |
| Basic Text, p. 153 |
| We often hear it said in meetings that we should "stick with the winners." Who are the winners in Narcotics Anonymous? Winners are easily identified. They work an active program of recovery, living in the solution and staying out of the problem. Winners are always ready to reach their hands out to the newcomer. They have sponsors and work with those sponsors. Winners stay clean, just for today. Winners are recovering addicts who keep a positive frame of mind. They may be going through troubled times, but they still attend meetings and share openly about it. Winners know in their hearts that, with the help of a Higher Power, nothing will come along that is too much to handle. Winners strive for unity in their service efforts. Winners practice putting "principles before personalities." Winners remember the principle of anonymity, doing the principled action no matter who is involved. Winners keep a sense of humor. Winners have the ability to laugh at themselves. And when winners laugh, they laugh with you, not at you. Who are the winners in Narcotics Anonymous? Any one of us can be considered a winner. All of us exhibit some of the traits of the winner; sometimes we come very close to the ideal, sometimes we don't. If we are clean today and working our program to the best of our ability, we are winners! |
| Just for Today: I will strive to fulfill my ideals. I will be a winner. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2025, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
December 10, 2025 |
A Focus on We Brings Out the Best in Me |
| Page 356 |
| "Tradition One asks us to shift our perspective. For the first time, "we" comes before "me."" |
| Guiding Principles, Tradition One, "For Members" |
| Each and every addict who comes to NA and hears a message is able to do so only as the direct result of members serving NA. Plenty of NA literature discusses the paradox of keeping what we have by giving it away, and our Traditions outline a practical guide for doing so. As this Tradition One quotation indicates, it starts by thinking about the good of the group before thinking of ourselves. As addicts, putting anything ahead of ourselves is a foreign concept. Some of the first things we do in NA are perfect practice for this. "In my first year, I never wanted to share," one member wrote. "A home-group member told me that I had to start opening my mouth or I would be stealing. I thought I had nothing to offer, but when I shared, I realized it wasn't about me." Being part of NA by sharing or taking service commitments helps us, but it's not just for us--when we share in a meeting, when we show up early to set up chairs, we are actively participating in the common welfare of NA. The same holds true as we gain cleantime. One member shared, "When I had a few years clean, I told my sponsor that all the meetings I had been going to were pretty bad lately. My sponsor suggested I start focusing on what I was bringing to the meeting instead of what I was getting out of it . . . and wouldn't you know, suddenly I was going to a lot of good meetings!" Contributing to our common welfare lets us "be the we." We focus on giving instead of getting--at the group level and beyond--and we find that the way we experience recovery gets better and better. |
| Shifting the focus from "me" to "we" doesn't mean disappearing from the picture. I will bring the best of me to NA so that WE will all do much better as a result. |
| Copyright (c) 2007-2025, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
FREESTATE REGIONAL CONVENTION XXXI “KEYS TO FREEDOM!” NOVEMBER 28 – 30, 2025Hyatt-Regency Inner Harbor300 Light Street | Baltimore, Maryland ALL
Join us Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 7pm as Northwest Area Special Events hosts a free event! Please bring a
