Many of us living in one day at a time recovery understand the importance of challenging reality especially when reality is difficult. Here is the truth about difficult which is for most of us it’s always just around the corner. We need to challenge it with self-care, reality checking, celebrating small victories, and also by reaching out. Somehow, somewhere, or someway in there we will deal with difficulty moment by moment one day at a time. Challenging adversity isn’t always easy but when we are dealing with times of fear or other unsettling emotions we have to take into consideration the question – is there anything that can be done about the situations that are causing these difficulties? Some of us understand that sometimes all we can do is accept reality and our only answer is to accept any solution that makes such difficulties easier to live with as long as such solutions are not to reach for the bottle, the puff or whatever addiction that we are now living in recovery from nor do we do anything to harm ourselves or others. This is of the utmost importance. We must accept this. Reach out! Difficulties can be challenged and overcome. We’ll be okay. Peace.
The reality of living in one day at a time recovery is that some people can’t help us. That’s reality. The people who can help us are people who are only an arm’s length away from a drink, a puff, a pill, a hit, a high or a roll. Then too there are those with learned knowledge who can teach us life skills, give us medical care and explain cognitive realities to us in order that we might face each day. Our reality is we have to find and maintain one day at a time abstinence from whatever our addiction is. People who are in recovery and know that they are only an arm’s length away from picking up tell us this time after time after time. We need to listen to the voice of experience. When we do we will learn to live in reality and we can say we are mostly good enough, sometimes worse but often better. People who don’t have learned knowledge or don’t have experience in living in one day at a time recovery just can’t help us because they are often our biggest enablers. When they learn that we need to be responsible for our own recovery they begin to understand and perhaps then we will get to see this reality ourselves. When we do we find recovery one day at a time. Peace.
Those of us who are living in one day at a time recovery understand what it is like to become adults and to own our stories. Part of owning our stories is forgiving ourselves and also forgiving others. What we also recognize is we need to forgive life itself for its difficulties, its weaknesses and the realities of guilt, shame and remorse. All of these are tangible events that are real as real can be. The paradox is that they pave our way to peace being ever so easy to recall and revisit and they do so by developing a concerned conscience within our being for letting go while understanding the reality of it is was it is but what it is is now as it was. We need not suffer a life-time for a troubled and impaired reality and when we become adults who own our stories we forgive our disorders, or illnesses for being a part of the human condition. By this time we have accepted reality and struggle as difficult as they may be. As ridiculous as it might seem because of this we experience the joy of freedom, adulthood and sobriety. Our level of concern for others has grown immensely. We become the guardians of recovery’s responsibilities, wisdoms and gifts. We are the ones who live it. Peace.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of our nature being the writer of our songs. The insecure fear influenced nature of our egos tends to build up the need and the desire to be certain and secure in its own existence telling us I was, I am, and I will be in control of my own fate and my own destiny thus I will be safe, happy, joyous and free. This is the reality of feeling the need to be in control when life seems to be out of control. It’s the reality of the overly depressive, frightened and angry songs that we write. This is the result of being human. Some call it self-centered fear. In all truth it is the result of trauma and human insecurity. Recovering people can struggle. Struggle is a part of growth and maturation and maturation introduces us to yesterday, today and tomorrow. We need to make peace with this. Richard Rohr has said that we get to know ourselves at the cost of our own innocence. It takes most of us a life-time to understand this and in doing so we meet human reality. We all need. That’s it. We all need security. It’s an absolute truth. Without it we will struggle. That’s why we need each other and in this we might find the reality of our songs change. That is the joy of kinship and belonging. We’re not alone. There is much to be said about that. It’s a gift. Peace.
People living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality that we all have the ability to help one another at one point or another in our journeys seeking reality and good health for ourselves and for those we are akin with. Some of these recovering empathetic souls share the wisdom of their experience, strength and hope in the rooms of recovery and in such rooms we might hear exactly what we need to hear at that exact right moment in time. This is the gift of identification. This gift brings with it the hope of I can stay in recovery one more day. In addition to this recovery gives us all the ability to help others. Those of us who are familiar with the rooms of recovery might never know if we say something that helps another of us to get through just one more day. It can save lives. Recovery is a humble reality. It’s based on people helping people. We have to give it away to be able to keep it. Peace.
Those of us living in one day at a time recovery know the reality of waiting which is that time takes time. Time taking time is an absolute truth. Waiting seems to be the most difficult when we are dealing with adversity and such adversity occurs when we are awaiting the possibility of bad news. What we do discover is that often there is nothing we can do but wait and pray. In reality the gift of one day at a time recovery gives us the ability to be there for others in times such as this. In doing so we are doing what we are supposed to do and we realize the people who have mentored us in recovery are just a call away. Another reality is that they might be right there with us providing the love and support we might need in such times. We are grateful for them. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery are people who are just trying to help the universe. It’s an overall view of if we try to help others we are are actually helping ourselves. It’s a paradoxical endeavor in which we don’t expect anything in return but if we do help others with no expectations of anything in return our reality becomes the knowledge that we might have just made recovery a little easier for someone else and we know the universe just became a better place because of it. What we understand is we might have just strengthened the inextricable bond between us, others and the universe. Those of us who have been helped by others see the rippling effect of such help. Our families and others close to us become recipients of a healthier us and from what they tell us they like it. The whole premise of one day at a time recovery is based upon the idea of we’re just trying to help the universe as we try to help ourselves. Join our reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of self-obsession. In such a reality me and my become the the focus, or the center of most of our reference points in regards to our topics of conversation. Some would say it’s a small view of the world. It appears that in regards to those of us who are self-obsessed we are often overly involved in a search for assurance or reassurance that we are worthy of love and belonging. Others might not see how challenged we are at trying to put ourselves out there in a way in which we can be confident in having intrinsic value as siblings, offspring, parents, friends or just plain people. What we get to understand is that although we struggle, once we understand the reality of one day at a time recovery, we get to understand that the small view of the world is the cornerstone of everyone’s reality. When in recovery we see this and a strange thing happens which is we develop humility, consideration for others, and responsibility. Everyone, and we mean everyone, is just trying to be happy, joyous and free. We all belong. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery get to experience the gift of participating in their own recovery. Participating in our own recovery means that we actively engage with other recovering people on a somewhat regular basis understanding we share an inextricable bond with these people which is to participate in our own recovery while helping others to find, maintain and participate in their own one day at a time recovery. We cannot do this unless we develop a personal need to help others simply because it is the right thing to do. In doing so we discover we have developed a sense of empathy for others who suffer and we understand their need to know they are not alone. This is the reality of recovery. Our participation is important. Not only do we help others but we make the world a better place for their kin and their loved ones. We understand the reality of our solidarity with others in one day at a time recovery and we understand the reality of belonging because others helped us when we didn’t know how to help ourselves. They told us we didn’t have to do it alone and it didn’t take us long to realize we had to participate in our own recovery. In doing so we helped our helpers. It’s all part of participating. It’s gift. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know that when we’re clean, sober and having a good time it is just us being us. It’s not unusual for us to laugh and carry on. It helps us to enjoy life making us healthy people gratefully living in one day at a time recovery. We can be light hearted people experiencing the reality of happy, joyous and free living. We have heard it said ‘ We are not a glum lot ‘. We do have a sense of humour and we know how to laugh at ourselves and we know when we laugh at ourselves and others laugh they are laughing with us. We understand that laughter relieves stress and makes us healthier people. It’s just us being us. Peace.