What many people in one day at a time recovery understand is living in recovery is not about me. Recovery does not exist for my benefit alone because what benefits me is beneficial for others. Recovery is freely given and it is freely accepted often because of the gift of desperation. We learn to understand our pain is another’s gain, and our bottoms create what some would call a staircase to our awakenings. Our innermost selves realize we are akin with others in recovery, and our service to each other is our gift. “We” makes the world a much better place to live. We say this in honest humility. It’s not about “me” is our reality. Without the “you” we cannot be happy, joyous and free. We thank God, the spirit or the universe for you. It’s our reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality, and the purpose of helpful distraction. We understand the need for helpful distraction when our anxiety levels become too difficult to deal with turning our downtimes into obsessive worry and panic attacks. Often we realize we need to breathe deeply and catch our breath. We do this for a bit, and then turn the worry, fretting and obsessing over to God, the spirit or the universe. In letting it go, experience has taught us to partake in helpful distraction. Perhaps we play a game or go for a drive and get an ice-cream with someone close to us. Maybe we take a walk. Another tool is that we tune the walk up into a run or another form of a more challenging exercise. Also, we can join another recovering friend for a decaf. Purposeful and helpful distraction is a gift. We need to be able to let go. It keeps us healthy. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know that it’s not really all that difficult for our egos to get offended in the rooms of recovery. We also know that it is not that difficult for us to let go of such things because harboring petty frustrations can lead to resentments and feelings of ill will directed at another person. When we admitted to ourselves we were human beings living with addictions we forfeited our right to be self-righteous. Besides being self-righteous fools we understand that we also understand the do unto others as you would have them do unto us. We also understand if we are getting upset about something that will mean absolutely nothing 10 years from now or perhaps even in a matter of 4 hours from now. Some of us will use the sinners prayer* or another centering prayer to soothe our egos. Centering prayers can bring us into the calm. Perhaps our egos are afraid of loosing some imagined standard of recovery it believes it owns. Yes egos can be sensitive and frightened things can’t they. Over time we’ve learned this. Peace.
* sinner’s prayer “Lord Jesus Christ be merciful to me a sinner” or “God be merciful to me a sinner” is a way to calm one down and center on the idea that I am a person who wishes to hold no ill will towards another human being because we are all imperfect which is a part of being a person.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the tragedy of spiritual scarcity. What we have discovered is if we practice spiritual scarcity we are doing so with the belief that love and power are finite. We are saying that there is not enough of either to go around, and that only a select few should benefit from them. This creates a cold, cold world which is cruel and inhumane. This belief is not spiritual, or one day at a time recovery, in any way whatsoever. The very thought that love and power are finite is a ridiculous notion which causes love to fail and power to end. Spiritual scarcity creates hell on earth as it dehumanizes people creating enemies out of our fellow human beings. It causes war, genocide and slavery. History has taught us this. Infinite power grows and continues to grow. Infinite love grows and continues to grow. That is why many of us came into one day at a time recovery. We want to love, be loved, have manageable lives and be set free from the hells we kept falling into. We can’t make life perfect but we do seek infinite spirituality that grows and grows and grows. We learn and recover one day at a time. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery are grateful for a sunny morning in spring. Some of us call it a sunny morning’s grace. A sunny morning in spring brings with it undeniable feelings of happiness and joy. In all reality, reality is good. The truth is that a sunny morning in spring is welcomed by many, many people. A sunny morning’s grace attracts a universal welcoming of gratitude, happiness and joy. The warmings days and the sounds of birds singing bring with them a sense of freedom and love. For many of us it is a seasonal awakening in truth. Be well today. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery write a paragraph or so a day to help us find reality and good health. Our reality is we are writing segments of our recovery of which some keep private in their own journals, and then there are some of us who write publicly in order that others just might relate while perhaps feeling they simply are not alone. And then there are writings that anyone could resonate with, which we as writers feel the inter-connectedness in a more profound way. This is the inextricable bond between all human beings. Somehow we all belong. In as such we write, we grow and we become healthy. Recovery’s reality is the search of many people living in one day at a time recovery. We hope you are well. Peace.
People living in one day at a time recovery understand that everyone has the the need to feel safe inside. In reality many recovering people feel safe within the rooms of recovery. In these rooms we are akin with the people we are meeting with knowing that many of them are spiritual misfits too seeking only to live in recovery one day at a time. We know as we welcome this inner-safety we hope that others meeting with us feel this inner safety too. It sort of grows on you after a bit, living life one day at a time. We often find it in coffee shops and kitchens. We even find it in places of worship or movie theaters. And at last many of us find it at home. Feeling safe is a need. Many of us find it simply living one day at a time. It’s a gift. Enjoy it. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery gain control of their lives by the simple practice of letting go. Often we discover our attraction to our thought process is something we cannot bear to lose. Even if it is unhealthy, and a cumbersome load, we hang onto its familiarity as if it was a primary addiction. Contrary to all evidence revealed to us by our totally unmanageable lives, we argue with ourselves, and others, that we are in complete control of ourselves. In reality we are not. The consequence of living unmanageable lives often hits us with a stark reality. We need to change our thinking. Many of us reached out for professional help discovering we need medication to help us let go of our unhealthy thought processes. When doing so many of us became healthy. Our minds became well. This leads to the act of gaining control by letting go of an unhealthy familiarity for a new, and healthy life of living in recovery. This can be a new reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery discover the end of lonely roads. What we have discovered is that others in recovery help us to be acquainted in kinship. This enables us to break the binds of isolation. Should we gather in the rooms of recovery, kitchens or coffee shops, we know we no longer have to be alone. We share the good, and the bad, knowing that each day we are in recovery is a successful full day. We have been told one day at a time recovery can work miracles in our lives. Most of us discover gratitude being ever so grateful. Peace.
Those of us living in one day at a time recovery discover there are times that participating in recovery is really hard. Projects we partake in can become difficult, and at times we become overwhelmed not knowing what to do. We stammer, stutter moving along, uncertain and unknowing what to do. Fear gets in the way making us vulnerable, not knowing how we can help others or even ourselves for that matter. We have been told that we can only keep what we have by giving it away but we cannot give away something we do not have. That is when we learn we need to turn to someone who has what we need and we have to ask for help. Feeling ever so vulnerable, anxious and afraid we reach out. As difficult as it is, we know we need to. It’s reality. Peace.