Some of us living life one day at a time like to show up early when we go to the rooms of recovery. In doing so we are either the people who open the doors or we are there to meet with friends who have opened the doors. This is a good thing to do. Then there are times that we meet in coffee shops after our meetings for fun and fellowship. We can also do coffee with our friends anytime two, three, or more of us are available. We might be simply spending time together in which we are solving all the problems of the world or we might have more serious conversations where we are actually meeting to help one another with problems that we actually might have experience with and solutions for. We welcome this reality and the kinship we have with our friends. We help each other. Peace.
Those of us who are living in one day at a time recovery compare the benefits of being in recovery as being the same as the benefits of buying a baker’s dozen. For those of us who do not know what a baker’s dozen is, it is when we pay for twelve sweets the baker gives us thirteen (one is free). We could say that the dozen sweets we have paid for is all the work we have done to find recovery, stay in recovery, and the sharing of the freedom we have found in recovery so that others might also benefit from the realities of our journey. The other sweet, the free one, is the one we keep for ourselves. This is the divine grace that we receive from God, the spirit, or the universe. We get to understand that a bakers dozen perpetuates the reality of grace. This is what one day at a time recovery is all about. We give it all away but we have to keep some for ourselves. It’s the reality of emptying ourselves so we can be full. When we do it’s perpetual fulfillment. Peace.
What some old-timers living in one day at a time recovery understand after being around the rooms of recovery for many years is that it is okay to complain about the weather. They complain that the price of gas seems too high and they get upset about the cost of a loaf of bread. This is all fine and dandy as long as long as they live in one day at a time recovery and remain generous in their efforts to share the reality of the happiness and the freedom that they have found in recovery. It appears that life is not meant to be a bowl of cherries every day of our lives and we need to accept this. The old-timers let us know this in no uncertain way. They also model the realities of having good lives. It’s their gift. Peace.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery learn early on in recovery the practice of gratitude. What we discover is the opportunity for gratitude is often present in our lives and it is necessary that we become aware of it while acknowledging and appreciating such opportunities. If we develop a pinch of humility we will awaken to the reality that the ability to be grateful is a gift. Our reality in recovery is that we do not crave more and more gratitude as a means of escape similar to that as we crave to soothe our addictive needs. What we realize is that we are simply feeling well because our eyes are now open wide enough to see that life can be good. Either from our own doing, the doing of others, or the doings of fate something has happened or has been done to create the feelings of gratitude. It is a natural occurrence but we need to be aware of it. Some of us call it our attitude adjustment. Peace.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery often experience reoccurring vagrant thoughts. Such thoughts could be that we are so uniquely special or that we are so unimportant that we believe we simply do not belong in the inextricable connection that recovering people share with each other. Such thoughts are the nonreality of spending too much time alone. They can also be vagrant breaks from our usual reality caused by the scourges of mental health disorders. Some of us take medication to keep such thoughts away. What we discover in reality is that we are so uniquely special and that we are so humbly unimportant that we really do modestly share in the inextricable connection with other people living in one day at a time recovery. This is a periodical discovery that is a common and a not so common reoccurrence. We simply choose to live, grow, and belong. It’s a piece of our reality. Peace.
People living in one day at a time recovery understand that there are times when we can’t find today. Not being able to find today is a rare but common occurrence. Often we find today while we are present in the moment as we are occupied by the task which is at hand during such times. The present has been brought to us either by the often drawn out experiences of our past which has brought us into a better today which at one time might have been the worries and preparations of a perhaps perceived troubled future. Today can be the grace of our one day at a time aspirations of what recovery would be all about. In all reality when we can’t find today we are either knocking at the door of depressive or anxious thinking. In all reality one day at a time recovery teaches us not to ruminate at such places. Some of us believe the reality of these portals are the realities of life which are and were unavoidable. Reality reveals this to us and there will be times when we can’t find today but we do develop resilience. In time we will find today. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery found that when we were wrapped up in active addiction life was like an incomplete sentence. The reason for this was because there was never any action (or verb) and also in all reality a subject (or noun) was never really present because we were never present. Once we found that there was me we constructed a sentence which was (Help me!) or (God help me!). What we were realizing was the existence of ourselves as human beings who were in pain. This can be the beginning of us, finding one day at a time recovery or the beginning of us. With this beginning we (life) became capable of constructing a complete sentence. We learned the meaning of us or we and that we were no longer alone. We found a connection with others. In this connection is hope. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery keep our lives simple. After all, our lives are about being well, and being well is about being able to live in recovery. Those of us who have been in recovery for a fair amount of time must remember to keep recovery simple. We don’t have all the answers. Nor are we teachers or preachers. Our lives can be messy and difficult. Many days all is well. We know we are not perfect. Our claim is we are doing much better than we were before. We can still live with adversity. Our reality is that we have a wellness that keeps us content. We can be happy. It’s that simple. Some of us share our experience so others won’t have to feel alone. We’re not telling others what to do. We share what we do. We know taking life one day at a time is really important. Many of us take medication. We learn to reach out. Every day is a new beginning.
Some of us living in one day at a time recovery question, and worry about whether we fit in with others who frequent the rooms of recovery. When we have been around the rooms for a few years we come to understand that it is not a matter of fitting in, it is a matter of belonging. Here is our answer. When we stop trying to exclude ourselves we most definitely belong. We belong when we realize we have a desire to stop using. When we have stopped using for a while maybe we can even give a little something back to help others. Perhaps we become the people who put on coffee which is a really good experience. The rooms are not about fitting in. Trying to fit in was part of our problem. We simply need to know and accept that we belong. It’s a gift. Peace.
A man – a brave man
His face bore the lines
And worries of
Eighty-four years
He saw a much different
World than me
He is a decorated
And true hero
The angel of death
Was no stranger
To his fallen comrades
And his fallen enemies
But he did what he had to
For he answered freely
His call to duty
Young and foolish
I longed to be a hero
And I questioned
This courageous soldier –
“What’s it like to be a hero?”
We sat in his cellar
As he quenched his thirst
With a drink of rye
And he flinched as the
Canada Day fireworks
Exploded
Then he sadly replied –
“Had there been another way,
I would have taken it.”