Many people new to one day at a time recovery believe that once we (for lack of better words) put the plug in the jug their lives will be nothing but steadfast recovery which never waivers in faith, works, or beliefs. In time, and time takes time, they become we and in being of the we, we know true life, and real recovery is not like that. We all have the trials and tribulations and the doubts of one day at a time reality. We have heard that the most natural thing for us to do is use. Our best defense is we just don’t pick up that first one. We reach our and we give back. We trust grace. We think through the struggle and we remain abstinent one day at a time. In all of its imperfections recovery works bringing us just plain old freedom. Enjoy it. Peace.
Those of us who reach out to try and help others to feel a sense of belonging with those of us who have been living in one day at a time recovery do so with a realistic understanding that we were not the most righteous and responsible of individuals. Another reality that we understand is that for many of us we uncovered a reality of usefulness, and we cannot help but to have compassion and concern for other human beings. It appears that we now have a benevolent purpose today which is to help others to find and live in recovery and as we try and fulfill this role perhaps we will stay in recovery one more day ourselves. Today it’s our meaningful reality. Even though we are nobody’s role-model we know recovery is a gift we must share. That’s how we get to keep it. It’s all grace. Peace.
Most people who come into one day at a time recovery do so, or did so, because they are, or were, in trouble. Our situation, or the reality of our life eventually spoke to us and it said “We are empty and broken”. We know this reality far too well. Today, and many past days, one day at a time recovery shows to us, or has shown to us one humbling reality. This reality is yet to this day we are still held up by love. This is the reality of grace. Why? The answer is simple – We are empty and broken and we are held up by love. Love just happens. It’s a God thing. This is our reality. Today we understand that today, and every new day, is a gift. We simply need to open our eyes. Peace.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of being allergic to their own thinking. This happens when we become stuck in self-defeating thought which can become as natural to us as it is to put a splash of cream in our morning coffee. Our allergic reaction to self-defeating thinking is to break-out in periods of self-loathing and self-condemnation. Such thinking is an attack on healthy reality. We have heard that we should have no regrets but some of us do. It appears the gift of now, the reality of grace, and a life of one day at a time recovery is our best remedy. It’s more common than we think. In this we find reality, and in this reality we find the freedom of being human. Today we have a choice. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery either carry or carried a heavy load in regards to the realities and the non-realities of living our lives as human beings. Our realities are we try to carry the heaviness of life all by ourselves. As hard as we try to face our realities alone, we find aloneness is or should be a non-reality for recovering people. For some of us the heaviest load we carry is the noise in our own minds. We need to invite someone in to help us navigate through the realities and non-realities of life. Many of us have sought guidance from empathetic individuals who have been trained to help people deal with the heavy loads of being people. Perhaps then we will learn that too much aloneness can bring with it a fair amount of toxic thinking. In all humility we have been gifted with the reality of one day at a time freedom. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of being ransomed. People protect us and offer us safe environments in which we can experience one day at a time abstinence. In recovery’s reality we will eventually get to understand we had actually paid quite a price to hit a time in our lives where we knew we just had to stop. We lost the freedom of living healthy, adjusted and doable lives. Our pain was so abundantly immense that not only did we hurt ourselves but we also hurt our loved ones and those around us too. Time after time we were rescued and ransomed from the mess that we had made of our lives. When we cried out for help and when we finally realized how desperate we really were we realized the reality of total abstinent as being the only way to freedom from active addiction. In as such we knew that we needed support and we joined the rooms of recovery. In doing so we discovered that we had paid our dues. Then we learned that now we had to pay our own ransom and we had to pay for the ransom of others. Everyone does this in the rooms. We all keep each other free from the bondage of active addiction. We ransom each other. It’s part of being inextricably connected to the other. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of wanting to be of value in helping others to find the reality and the freedom of one day at a time recovery. This is the usual want of people who are fairly new to recovery (less than a year of abstinence). We call this the beginner’s picture. It happens to us because of our gratitude and the need to pay it forward. There is a fair amount of recovering people who become professionals who help people with our disorders find one day at a time wellness. This is the extension or fruition of the beginner’s picture. They’re a living legacy of one day at a time recovery. Many of them do this for many, many years. The rest of us – we’re grateful for them. They’ve helped save many lives. Peace.
Many of us living in one day at a time recovery know the reality of taking precautions to protect our recovery. An analogy of such action is when we are going outside when it might rain we take an umbrella. Recovery is like that too. When we are being exposed to substances we take precautions. One of these precautions is to have a supportive person who will have our backs in such situations come with us. We must guard our recovery like our lives depend on it. It does. Our reality, our freedom, and our peace of mind are at stake. We must stay dry. Peace.
Many of us who are getting older in one day at a time recovery have to face the reality of although we are in recovery, recovery doesn’t turn us into pinnacles of society and ever courageous examples of sober living itself. We still live with the fears, and sometimes the setbacks of fallible living, misgiving thoughts, and the inability to live up to our unrealistic expectations of ourselves as we slowly grow into the reality of our own lives which is we were flawed people and will continue to be so until the day we die and they throw dirt in our face. This is the reality and the freedom of imperfection which makes us worthy of grace and in grace we become content. What else could we do? Acceptance becomes our greatest gift. It sets us free. Peace.
Many of us living in one day at a time recovery after a year or two of recovery believed we were capable lassoing the moon. Such delusions put us in touch with our own grandiose spiritual superiority or should we say our egoic imaginings. The funny thing is people fairly new to recovery believed in us too. The people who had been around for many years – well – they told us to keep our feet on the ground. Years later we understood what they meant. Those who we called old-timers were supportive to us when our feet were on the ground. They told us to keep our eyes on the prize which was to stay abstinent and practice living in recovery just one day at a time. And some of us did. We did funny things like we kept going to meetings in the rooms of recovery. We became humble and did such things like letting go of any notion of spiritual superiority or our whims of being chosen. We accepted we were neither over or under any other people. We strived to be a part of even with our mistaken notions and our peculiar peculiarities. And we learned to listen to everyone. Many marvelous things did happen and would happen to us. We also had and will have our struggles. We begin to understand life. Our feet are on the ground. Peace.