Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of giving unnecessary direction. This is the reality of whether we should or should not give anyone direction about the use of psychiatric medication. Whether we should or not comes down to whether we are professionals with the ability to do so effectively and successfully. Those of us who are living in one day at a time recovery who do take psychiatric medication know what its benefits are. We stayed alive, functioning, healthy and abstinent for many years because of it. We also know the reality of medicating normal when perhaps a doctor or a therapist could have helped us to navigate life with non-medicated direction giving us the tools to face life on life’s own terms. Experience and time become great helpers. When we are maturing our eyes will open. It all happens in God’s time as we grow one day at a time. We learn to do difficult. Peace
Most people living in one day at a time recovery know that pumpkin pie is not apple pie. Reality is that they both need sunshine and water to grow. In other words all people who are seeking recovery need love and support. We also need to experience a bottom or have some kind of pain that makes it possible for us to reach out for help. When we do experience pain somewhere in there is a bit of a revelation which is we all need to live life one day at a time with a bit of a divine intervention to help us find abstinence. If not we might not grow into the different bur similar recovering people that we will become. (Emphasis on recovering) We are all one day at a time miracles. We are all a bit different as we are all supposed to be. Be grateful and enjoy the ride. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery have to stop, think, and ask ourselves this important question “Can we truthfully see that we are loved beyond all measure by a force we often call God, the spirit, or the universe and that he, she, or they make this evident by the gift of our every breath?”. A breath in – hold – and a breath out. This is the reality of the moment. It is the act of mindfulness at work. A breath in – hold – a breath out. Start by setting a timer. Repeat a breath in – hold – a breath out. Do it for five minutes. That is all we need do at the beginning. Be aware of your breathing and be aware of your body’s sensation. Let your thoughts drift away like clouds often do. Breathe in – hold – breathe out. We are starting a journey of awareness. We know or we will begin to know that we are loved. Our eyes are opening. Breathing has a way of making us aware. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of covering all the bases. The first base we have to cover is having a real relationship of being a part of in the rooms of recovery. Reality is that we all need support no matter what our addiction or our unhealthy dependency appears to be. We now have the opportunity of being a part of. We discover we are all a part of a machine. This is not an insult. We need to be apart of not a part over. It’s of paramount importance. In our addiction (or unhealthy dependency) we were on auto-drive with no place to go but to crash and we did. Our purpose became to reach out for help and be a part of. In doing so we learned to hear, see, and believe. And again opportunity was knocking. Now the beginning was beginning. We were starting to cover all the bases. We began taking direction and we had a touch of freedom. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery eventually get to understand that if we didn’t have any regrets why were we seeking recovery, sobriety, or abstinence. Our regrets are what drove us to seek the help we need to find the reality of a better life. Many of us found ourselves in financial, spiritual, physical, moral, or legal trouble. We had probably hit a bottom and we needed help. We cried out and that very moment it came in the form of grace. Grace is usually that detox, rehab, hospital, or forgiveness from that frustrated but forgiving spouse who gave us one last chance. In our desperation we clung onto that chance and sought help from other people in the rooms of recovery. Then and only then would we truly understand what regret did. In time we realized that regret saved us. Life had become anew because of it and in our one day at a time recovery we found ourselves living a life we had never expected to know. We had freedom from active addiction. We had freedom from pain. It’s a bit of a paradox isn’t it. Be grateful for it. Peace.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery who found the recovery in the rooms of recovery live with a reality which is we cannot be your sponsors. The reason why is because your problems burn a hole in the very core of our beings and your egos are still dictating that you are in complete control of everything and everyone. Besides we don’t have the time to witness the deconstruction of your egos because our time is valuable and taming the ego can be a very difficult thing to watch. If you could only learn to listen and let go of your old ideas some of which are you need to let go and believe whole-heartedly that you are not God. When you no longer take offense to every criticism or direction that differentiates from your own egoic desires you are teachable. Now the journey begins. You discover reality and reality teaches you what one day at a time recovery is all about. It’s an everyday experience and no – we cannot be your sponsors. You are now our teachers. Peace.
Some of us who are living in one day at a time recovery sometimes find ourselves sharing our stories with other people in the rooms of recovery. We might share that a big part of our recovery is our prayer life. People new to recovery might not be able to grab onto this reality and we know this so we repeat our reality again which is we pray. Those of us who rely on centering prayer will probably share that we pray a few more times. People who are new to seeking recovery just don’t seem to understand that when we say we pray we mean we pray. It’s as simple as that – we pray. Prayer is simple. We ask for help and we say thank you to whomever of whatever we pray to. It’s a wonderful way to touch base with God. We tell them we pray. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know what it is like to have a slip. We have experienced slips that have turned into full blown relapse and we have had slips that were just a taste. Nonetheless both have interrupted our continuous abstinence and we need to realize one thing which is continuous abstinence can and will happen again if we seek the help of God and the good people who support the reality of us finding continuous abstinence again. There is another reality though and that is that there will be others who will criticize us for our slips. Critics are foolish people indeed because they don’t understand the reality of human imperfection. A slip can be a catalyst to start a life-time of continuous abstinence. In this we learn the meaning of one day at a time recovery. Nonetheless be diligent. Don’t pick up. Reach out. Peace
Many people living in one day at a time recovery live with the belief that we can only keep what we have by giving it away. This belief has taken on a new meaning for some people. This new belief is we can only keep what we have by selling it to you. Oh well – whatever floats your boat. Most of us just hope that people who are struggling to find recovery will learn to take life one day at a time by way of something that works because we know what works for us might not work for others. Another reality is what works for us just might be exactly what works for others. Twelve step personhoods have been proving this for decades. Twelve steppers also know some people need professional or outside help. This is a wise and tested view of recovery. We’re just trying to be of service by mostly giving it away. God bless you. Peace.
Many people who spend a committable amount trying to help those of us who simply don’t want help actually feel a heaviness weighing down upon our shoulders. It is not really a burden but it is a responsibility and it is a labor of love. What we actually get to understand is we can only keep what we have by giving it away. In other words when we try to help others we are probably helping ourselves. Touching base and sharing our recovery is a must for many of us no matter how heavy the load seems to be. We have to do difficult in life and we have to face adversity in one day at a time recovery. It helps us to grow. It keeps us abstinent. It is all recovery’s perpetual knocking on our door. We let it in; we let it out. It’s our calling. Peace.