Many people living in one day at a time recovery know what it is like to escape the Netherworld. The Netherworld is a place of bondage, pain and suffering which which creates nothing but confusion and doubt. Its reality is real as real can be. Our new reality is that we actually escaped the Netherworld with the understanding that freedom from bondage cost us nothing, that pain and suffering still exist, and that confusion and doubt still visit us, leaving us a bit bewildered and unsure. The difference is that we need no longer need to face life and its struggles alone. We have joined the world of the living, and although life is imperfect, we travel a road of contented life. It’s the gift of gratitude that we find in one day at a time living in a world that is really quite manageable. We have discovered grace and in grace we have escaped the Netherworld. You can too. Join us. Peace.
Many people who are living in one day at a time recovery know that living in recovery can be a difficult endeavor. One of the ways that we can make recovery more purposeful, more doable, and more meaningful is that not only are we in it for ourselves, we are in it to help others who truly need to find the reality of abstinence find it. We call this participating in recovery. We are part of the solution not only for ourselves but for others too. Should those who need to find abstinence reach out for help, they will discover that they can find us in the rooms of recovery. Any addiction counsellor or mental health professional should know where we meet. We are the participants of all the support groups that participate in helping each other in remaining abstinent from active addiction. Reach out. We help each other. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand and experience the gifts of a clear head and freedom from the bondage of active addiction. Both of these two little joys help with the evolution of our souls, or what we also call our journey in which we discover and witness the reality of our true-selves. This is the part of us that for recovery’s purpose is loving, compassionate, kind, and resilient even in the face of adversity. We share this reality with others, be they family, close friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We will not be perfect but we will share in the workings and responsibilities of life and recovery. For most of us it is a staggered reality of peace and grace. It’s the gift of our growing reality. Peace.
Most people living in one day at a time recovery will encounter the reality of chaos which attacks their spirits interfering with their peace of mind, or what we could call our one day at a time wellness. We all have suffered, or will suffer, in such times. Such chaos is a reminder of when we had bottomed, or were bottoming out, and in desperations we thought, or even cried out, “God help me”. At that time such words might have been as foreign to us as is the language of a lost civilization. Now while in recovery, either new or even well seasoned, the chaos that sometimes appears in our lives brings us to these words again. “God help me”. The repetition of such words can bring us to a place with a new peace. Prayer does work. We don’t have to know how or why. We call it the reality of grace. Peace.
Those of us who are living in one day at a time recovery need to hear the sounds of recovery. We need to hear “We are not alone” and “Reach out”. We need to hear “Keep coming back” and “Accept what we cannot change”. We need to hear “The gift of desperation”, “Turn it over” and “Let it go”. We need to hear “This too shall pass” and “It gets better”. These phrases, which are nothing more than sounds when we are in early recovery, eventually reveal the knowledge and the feelings of the inextricable connection that recovering people share. In time, we understand our reality. We all want the unmanageable chaos to stop and for life to become manageable, doable, and well. The sounds of recovery become wisdom and the monkey falls of our back. We are gifted with grace. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know the reality of peace interrupting anxiety and depression. As both anxiety and depression lay claim to our beings with the scourges of obsession and addiction, the gift of desperation brings forth a bottom (perhaps a forced intervention) which leads us to the reality of an interrupting peace. This interrupting peace (desperation) gives birth to abstinence and abstinence in turn gives birth to another interrupting peace often found in coffee shops, therapist’s offices, and the rooms of recovery. Discovering togetherness (being no longer alone) is a great healer. It interrupts both anxiety and depression with again another interrupting peace. We call it grace. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery discover that there are streams we need to cross to live and experience reality and life. Often we do so by using the stepping stones of recovery. What we realize is that these stones can be dry and secure or they can bet wet and difficult. We need to use these stones to be able to participate in reality and life. They’re part of our journey. Those we are akin with, and professional advisers can show us how to navigate these crossings. We don’t need to brave the wilderness without guides. Most of us believe reaching out is the first stone we step on. We are entering a new reality. We are to become well enough to be responsible in life. Even if we get wet we’ll be okay one stone at a time. Welcome to recovery. Welcome to life. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the sometimes problematic realities of us and all our troubled friends. This reality happens when we subscribe to the reality that we are not enough in living in the present, so therefore we must subscribe to the marketed belief that we will be enough sometime in the future. We reach out for what is often unobtainable (some kind of non-existent utopia). Often happiness is elusive because of the imperfections of today, A wee bit of gratitude and a dash of reasonable thinking helps us, and all our troubled friends, to find happiness, joy, and contentment as we sip coffee and solve all of the undeniable problems of the world. When we are in recovery we learn from our past, we become present in the present, and we have hope for the future. We’ve found reality, freedom, and grace. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand that as we find wellness we will discover that the sincerity we have developed to help us find recovery often fills us with hope which started because of the reality of the gift of desperation. Many of us call this by another name. We call it grace. The sincerest of efforts to remain healthy must be accompanied by a longing for the freedom that wellness gives to us. This longing teaches us to be gentle with ourselves. We understand that we are enough. As we grow we learn there is no other reality. Even when we struggle we must have faith that we are enough. Peace.
Many people living life one day at a time understand the reality of living a life based in recovery. Our truth is that the choice that we make to remain abstinent on a daily basis is the most important choice we can make. We do not question this because without recovery we don’t have choices and without choices we don’t have freedom. No adversity, qualm, or misfortune should ever take this reality from us. We need to be vigilant always about not taking that first drink, haul, or hit and we shouldn’t put ourselves in a situation where such a thing is at risk. Our necessity is to take precautions, have supports, and ask God, the spirit, or the universe for help. One day at a time our lives are based in recovery and our lives can be a wonderful journey. Be careful. Peace.