Many people living in one day at a time recovery know the experience of fearing that we might appear weak. In other words we live our lives trying to hide our fear because if we show fear, someone, or something, will go for the jugular. It’s the same feeling we had when we were kids being confronted by the neighborhood bully. If we acknowledge we need help, and if we ask for help, we are not only doing the smart thing, we are doing the brave thing. Brave people ask for help when they need it. We learn a true reality which is showing vulnerability is not weakness. Neither is being afraid. We can’t expect to move mountains all by ourselves. And this is what living in one day at a time recovery is all about which is that sometimes we have to move mountains. We learn to reach out for support. Togetherness is a gift. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know the feelings of experiencing apprehensive reality. Apprehensive reality makes us think twice before we quickly, without much thought, jump into a situation of where we have been told, ” This is a place where angels fear to tread.” It is not the reality of exploring new horizons that are full of golden roads and milk and honey. It is the reality of risky situations that can lead us into harm or perhaps even relapse. When facing such realities we need to practice caution (for instance being asked to do an intervention all by ourselves). Experience and apprehension tell us not to do this. We are apprehensive for a reason. We need not go where angels fear to tread. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of the divisions in life and time. Such divisions are what we call yesterday, tomorrow, and today. Neither yesterday or tomorrow are realities we should be currently living in. In some of our realities both places are troublesome to occupy. They bring with them the ill feelings of ill adventures. They are the difficult periods of life that no longer, or do not yet, exist. They separate us from what is the actuality of today. Living in today and occupying the present moment becomes our defense against such divisions. As difficult as it may seem, we have no other choice. We need to accept this. It’s about living in grace, or what we call the present. It’s a gift. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery enjoy the reality of living a simple life. A simple life is not just the limiting of material possessions. A simple life is the reality of being able to let go of the resentments and the control which at one time plagued our reality, our recovery, and our peace of mind. In other words it is the lessening of egocentric thinking. Such a reality will never be perfect, and at times we will still struggle, but what many of us have learned is the practice of centering prayer. Such prayer (for example – The Serenity Prayer) helps us to let go and practice a simpler life. We find virtue in such a reality (that is a bit of a strange endeavor isn’t it). One day at a time we are learning the experience of simple living. It’s the reality of grace. Peace.
What many people living in one day at a time recovery eventually come to understand is that it takes a while to find humility. Humility tells us that we are part of the reality of recovery which curbs our egocentric belief that we are omnipotently wonderful and always in control of our being and our recovery. Those of us who understand the reality of grace know that such beliefs are simply untrue. We are all recipients of grace and we have all fallen short of independently managing our reality. We all need help. When humility finds us we understand. Our recovery flourishes because of this. We become a simple part of in our understanding of life. Grace comes to us in abundance. It becomes our understood reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of joining the togetherness that many recovering people so choose to share with each other on a daily basis. For most of us it is the reality of discovering the joy and the freedom found in one day at a time living. When we get there we learn to be patient with ourselves, and we recognize that being kind to ourselves goes a long way in developing the ability of being kind to others. In our imperfect lives of one day at a time recovery we join in a kinship of human beings who grow in resilience, compassion, and love. We help each other to navigate not only adversities, but to realistically welcome the good times that we gratefully experience in our lives. Joining the togetherness is what reality is all about. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the fall we experience which makes us come to terms with our egocentric being is a necessary reality which catapults us into recovery as we begin to meet our true selves. We experience that recovery, and also our fall (our necessary realities), are both the gifts of mercy and love which we have received, and are receiving from God, the spirit, or the universe. This becomes a natural aspect of spiritual transformation which allows us to give grace to our egocentric selves. We learn to observe our delusional thinking letting go of our self-absorbed self patterns. We are discovering the gift of unconditional love. This realization is the natural experience of being a human being. We are becoming empathetic people in the reality of grace. We see it all around us. Peace.
Many people who are living in one day at a time recovery write gratitude lists. Often we do this when we are depleted of, or struggling to find joy. Sometimes we do this when adversities are kicking at our doors. We also write gratitude lists when we don’t want to give ourselves, others, or life in general a break. Difficult times happen to all of us. Gratitude lists are important. In truth a gratitude list is a written celebration of life. During struggles we need to search for, write down, see and acknowledge the good things in our lives. Our reality is if we are living in recovery, we have being in recovery to be grateful for. If we are living in recovery our mental health is good. Write that down. Read it and acknowledge it. If you are living in recovery and you are having a difficult time, and you know it’s a difficult time that will end, write it down, read it and acknowledge it. These are all gifts of being in recovery. There are many many other things to be grateful for. Search for them and write them down. Read them and acknowledge them. When we read these gratitude lists when we are doing well we will really see they are a written celebration that life brings us much joy. People living in recovery know this. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know the reality of when time gracefully disappears. This happens because of the reality of long time abstinence and the reality of aging physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. What we get to understand is that very likely we will experience the challenges of such developmental processes of life. What most of us hope for is for time to gradually and gracefully disappear. This might sound a bit depressing, but it is a part of life. Hopefully we come to an acceptance with it and are still able to manage to live one day at a time being at peace with all that God, the spirit, and the universe has given us and has prepared for us when time begins to gracefully disappear. It all was, all is, and all will be the reality of grace. Peace.
Many of us living in one day at a time recovery spend a fair amount of time watching the world smile. In the really real of recovery many of us join in with the world as it smiles ever so happy to feel the warmth of its peace and the freedom we find in one day at a time abstinence. We do so in the joy we share with family, friends, other recovering people, and the world at large. This joy is a kinship that holds back the miseries and demands of a messed up world helping us to desire little of life’s obsessive wants. We learn to love people and use things, not use people and love things. We also learn to feed each other unless we starve and to see the love and good in we. It’s a gift. Peace.