Many people who live one day at a time practice living in wellness. Often, when we are well, we have amiable thinking which brings with it goodwill and kindness which we generously maintain for others. We also are generous with goodwill and kindness towards ourselves. When we practice living in wellness we are living in humility, and we more often than not experience gratitude. In reality the living grace of one day at a time living has brought us here. Others have helped us, and they continue to do so. Even the challenging times in our lives have made us grow. None the less wellness is. We understand as we practice it. Not only does practicing living in wellness bring goodwill and kindness, we also get to experience faith, hope and love. We get to understand that life is our friend. We welcome its reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the joy of acceptance. Acceptance is not the act of settling for a lesser life. Accepting the reality of living manageable and good lives reveals to us that although life requires much reasoning, and much practice, we understand that when we learn to cope with the reality of one day at a time recovery we are actually opening the door to experience the joy, and the freedom of abstinence. We learn the gift of adaptation and no longer live in the confines of having impaired minds. This comes in time. We no longer have the need to conquer everything in life to be happy. We find the joy of acceptance. It’s a gift. Peace.
People living life one day at a time know being present to the moment can help us to find serenity. What we discover is when we live in serenity, serenity itself has the ability of creating on going serenity. This is the affect of serenity perpetuating serenity. When we are aware of serenity we are planting the seeds of the peace that is yet to come. The calm of the present moment brings with it an appreciation of life. Sometimes in this moment we experience awe, joy and freedom. For most of us serenity is not constant emotion but we do experience enough of it that we practice living with gratitude and joy realizing the reality that serenity perpetuates serenity. It’s not some far out experience limited to mystics and monks. Many people know serenity. It’s a positive practice of one day at a time living. We can find it doing dishes. It’s not perfection but life can be good. Peace.
The reality of being a person living in one day at a time recovery is that we know that difficulties are a part of life. Often we will have to face financial, social, cognitive, and employment difficulties and what we discover is we often find that we do okay, or even good at such things. Usually our financial woes get better if we are able to hold a job. Living an abstinent reality often makes this possible. Even if it is part-time or casual employment. Our ability to develop cognitive abilities such as learning to live life one day at a time also makes life easier and it also helps with social awkwardness (please don’t be offended). Difficulties are a part of life. We will be okay. Recovery bears with it resilience. It’s a gift. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of the slingshot effect. What had happened to us while in active addiction was we fell further and further back in the reality of bottoming out. When this happens we hit our bottom and our grip lets go. If we survive, we are shot into the reality of recovery. The further back our bottom was the farther we will need to travel to discover the reality of recovery. With grace, and when we do the work, it happens quickly. Because of this our natural maturation begins. It’s a gift of one day at a time living. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand that the houses we create while living in recovery must have windows in them. The purpose of these windows is to show us that there is more than just the egocentric bound up form of recovery that we sometimes believe is the only reality we need to know. Such recovery becomes a stagnant reality and sooner or later we will see the need and the desire to be a part of the outside world as we peer through the windows seeing there is more to life and recovery than we might know. Most of us find that we long for community and its purpose of togetherness. Our inextricable connection with others leads us outside of our houses into a joint purpose of we and we realize the gift of we. We belong in we. It’s a better reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know what it is like to be the lonely, the tormented, the misguided, and the ill. Being the lonely we know what it is like to be in a room full of people and still feel alone. As the tormented we know the voices of the morning after the night before which is often full of shame and remorse while being full of guilt and fear. We became misguided fools by the lies we told ourselves. And we were ill (mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically). Our course of direction to becoming well was and is abstinence, grace, and one day at a time action of reaching out for help and also giving back by trying to help others. It’s a reciprocating reality. We are no longer alone. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of having choices. Some of the choices we have are that we have the ability to say “I was wrong” or “I did not know that”. These are hard words for many of us to say. Some of us believe this is an attempt by the ego to prove that it is in control or that it is not weak because of a lack of knowledge. In reality it is hard to accept that we all know very little in the the large scheme of things and if we believe we are a mountain of wisdom we are skating on thin ice. Wise people tend to be little children who believe in grace. We need to know we have much to learn. Accepting this is the beginning of all knowledge. It’s all a gift. Peace.
People living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of being stuck but being resilient. Sometimes being stuck forces us to endeavor along in a pool of out of control control. Out of control control is something we justify to conquer or control (there is that word again) our fears. When we get older we recognize that we have a stronger need for control but in our resilience we understand and participate in the reality of letting go and receiving grace. It isn’t easy but what else can we do. Acceptance (especially of what we cannot change) and living in grace can be our greatest act of resilience. It’s our reality and it gives us peace.
Many people living life one day at a time often learn the reality of human growth in retrospect according to our age and our time in recovery. This is not a put-down on those who are younger or those who are fairly new to one day at a time recovery. It is the reality of limited experience and the knowledge that life is grace, life is love, and life will always have its limitations. If we cannot accept this, life becomes a terribly egocentric tailspin in which we believe we live in recovery because of our own accord. We don’t understand that grace, love, and acceptance are a God thing, and that God, the spirit or the universe are in all reality the other. Reality sets in and in retrospect we understand we are all vessels who have found safe harbor from the storms of our innocence. Peace.