Living Every Day With Hope
September 16th – Potential
“We were living the fantasy of functionality.”
– Life with Hope, second edition, page 2
Before I started recovery I considered myself a “functional stoner.” I would go to work high every day, I would drive high, I even went to job interviews high because that’s how I would be on the job. I never really realized that I was only functioning at a bare minimum. All I did was go to work and go home and all I did in between was smoke weed.
Once I got clean, I had all this energy and drive to do more. I would hang out with friends, I started climbing and swimming again. I even decided to go back to school and finally finish that degree that I gave up on when I first started smoking because “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.” Getting clean has been the greatest thing for me because I now know that I have this amazing potential that I can live up to. My life isn’t just getting high and working the same stupid job every day.
Final thought: Today, I will work towards my goals of living up to my full potential.
Living Every Day with Hope – Copyright © 2025 Marijuana Anonymous World Services. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Marijuana Anonymous groups have been granted limited permission to quote Living Every Day with Hope.
Hope Delivered To Your Inbox
By subscribing to Daily Dose of MA Recovery you receive via email the meditation of the day from Living Every Day with Hope and additional announcements from MA World Services.
-
Carrying the Message
Written by, Andi A. The Twelfth Step tells us, having had a spiritual awakening as the result of the Steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs. I learned very early on in MA that service would help to keep me sober. It kept…
-
Hugs, Service and Sobriety
Written by, Tina K. Words can’t begin to express my feelings or explain the love that was generated through the 1991 World Conference. When I got clean and sober almost 18 months ago, I honestly didn’t think I’d have a good time doing it! I had a chance to be of service this weekend and…
-
Hey, what’s this basket for?
Written by, Loren N. The monies collected during our Seventh Tradition ultimately goes to carrying the message of Marijuana Anonymous, not only locally, but worldwide. When this is hampered, the addict is the one who suffers or dies. Most of us figured that the basket money went to rent, literature, coffee, and cookies. Whatever was…
-
Doin’ What Feels Good
Written by, Dave K. I have always had difficulty understanding how and why people don’t do a lot of what feels good. In other words, when I first began smoking pot, it felt very good, so I did it a lot. Sex is the same thing. It feels good, so I do it – and…
-
Hunger in Chains
Written by, John C. I wake up to the gnaw, the claw, the whisper—a voice that slithers in my veins,coiling around my ribs like a python with patience.It doesn’t scream; it seduces,doesn’t demand; it devours. I tell myself, not today.Today I will walk past the firewithout dipping my hands into the flames.Today I will not…
-
Finding the Courage
Written by, Katherine T. I want to start by talking about where I came from, because I think so much of my struggle with open-mindedness and honesty started in my childhood. Growing up, I was taught to believe exactly what my family believed. There wasn’t room for questioning, for doubt, or for my own voice.…
Copyright © 1989–2026 Marijuana Anonymous World Services—All Rights Reserved
—Marijuana Anonymous World Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, does not endorse or accept contributions from any outside enterprise—