Many of us living in one day at a time recovery got to understand the sins of our parents. What we mean by sins are the imperfections of those who mentored us and fell short of bringing us up in a safe, involved and loving world. We might have even grown up to be adult children of the addicted or our parents might even have been people living with mental health disorders. They might have been traumatized. We might also be people who were victimized and traumatized by others or those who knew no better. Perhaps even walking to school left our lives a mess because of the violence or aggression in our neighborhoods. The reality for some of us was we grew up to live with addictions and mental health disorders and such cycles continued living on in us. This is the reason that many of us surrendered seeking recovery. In our search for recovery we understood our parents. We also understood that most people we grew up around were doing the best they could. We became resilient in our one day at a time recovery. We became healthier people and we got to understand broken reality. We became survivors. Recovery does that to us. Reach out. Peace.
Most people living in one day at a time recovery realize how important it was for us when we got to surrender. Surrendering meant we no longer had to fight the battle of trying to control what ever it was that gave us ill-lasting effects even though our intentions had been to get pleasure. The pleasure it gave us was short-lived, if at all. And the ill-lasting effects owned us. The phenomenon of craving was something we were certain to experience. We hit our bottoms using when we were using when we didn’t want to and we were also spending money that we didn’t have. Many of us found abstinence in a controlled environment. We surrendered to the idea that we would never be able to control our usage and that for us to use was to die. We would wage battle with it no-more one day at a time. Addiction had kicked the crap out of us. We called out to God, the spirit or the universe – and we reached out to others in recovery. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and that our lives were a mess. We started to believe that something greater than us could stop our irrational or insane thinking and we decided to let some form of a higher power (God, the spirit or the universe) be our guide. Our reality became if we needed professional help we got it. We got to experience the beginning of the journey of one day at a time recovery. We got to surrender. Peace.
Some of us who are living in one day at a time recovery are people who live with mental health disorders. Some of us function at times well enough that those who are close to us and people we associate with don’t often get to see that there are times that we are unwell or for lack of a better term mentally ill. When this happens some of us are lucky enough that those close to us practice acceptance, patience and concern. Our reality is we are in struggle and in that struggle we are doing the best we can but the struggle goes on. It’s our reality. Give us time. And keep on loving us. That is what really matters for we cannot help but to keep on loving you. Many of us know the reality of one day at a time recovery but struggle is struggle. That’s our reality when we are ill. We cannot just put a bandage on it. We live it. Give it time. Peace.
Many people who live in one day at a time like to write about the reality of their recovery. Most of the time when we take a pen in our hand we are just being healthy. Becoming or remaining healthy often is the purpose recovery. In our reality we have to be abstinent in order that we can adapt and cope with the reality of adversity being a part of our lives. Some would say that journaling helps us to function in reality. As was said before – we are just being healthy. When we are healthy we feel the inextricable connection that we have with other recovering people. We understand the desperation that people new to recovery feel, and we tell them that this desperation is a gift if they use it to their advantage. What we call the gift of desperation is what made us reach out and accept the support that others were extending to us. This is that reality of many. Life becomes doable even during difficult days. The experience of others has shown us this. In this we are healthy. When we are healthy we can practice the gift of one day at a time gratitude. Those of us who write appreciate having the ability to able to write. If we let others read what we write it might even help them. It’s a welcoming to recovery. For us it’s just being healthy. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery are moved by hope in the hope that we see which is drawn from examples that are transmitted by others who are living in one day at a time recovery. Our reality is that there is hope for us too. We understand that we are inextricably connected to those we are akin with and we learn we are a part of. We have glimpses of being no better or no worse than any other person. Such knowledge can be difficult for some of us to accept because in our aloneness we feel unique. Hope tells us in our uniqueness we are still a part of and our connection with others lets us know this. For some of us we might be private and introverted individuals but we are inextricably connected to many, many others. When we are healthy we understand this. Hope makes itself evident if we are paying attention. We are moved by such hope to a point of living a humble and grateful reality. We belong. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand that sometimes work is work. We are not just talking about jobs or careers which we draw our incomes from, we’re talking about everyday activities that we do to keep us healthy and living in recovery. Sometimes, the support meetings we go to that help us to invest time in our recovery and that also act as insurance policy against relapse isn’t always the place we want to be. Sometimes the papers that pile high stacked upon our desk are papers we just don’t want to deal with just at the present moment. These are often hiccups of feeling anxious, overwhelmed and depressed. Remember we are saying hiccups. We are not talking about acute or chronic full blown conditions that we need immediate medical care for. We are talking about the blahs or the work is just work kind of thing that might even be the things that we usually enjoy doing. Maybe we need to take a break. Maybe we need help with what needs to be done. Often we reach and someone lends us a hand. Remember that phrase (lends us a hand). That hand is something we are willing to pay forward when the opportunity arrives and we can do as such because we choose to live in one day at a time recovery even when work is just work. We keep investing in our recovery. This is the challenge and the gift of freedom. Welcome to reality. Peace.
Many of us living in recovery from mental health conditions accompanied with addictions learn the reality of the joyous now. In the joyous now we understand that the present is a peaceful time that accentuates the reality of freedom from active addiction. Those of us who find such freedom understand the breaking of chains, the calming of fear and often the compassion and love found in community. In such community we understand that we can be different from those we are akin with even though we all have a common goal which is to find reality and to obtain and maintain freedom from active addiction. In as such, after time, we get a glimpse of our true-self and we will see our true-self is an innocence that we could have never understood if we didn’t find one day at a time recovery. The freedom is that we start to see this in everyone, and when we do we experience the joyous now. The joyous now is the gratitude we find in today. It’s called grace. Peace.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery learn the reality of growing acceptance. If we cannot accept what we cannot change and when we try to stop or distort healthy reality changing it from what it is we are living a life based upon delusional egocentric thinking. Living such a life we try to say black is white and we try to control others to same point as we would as if we were trying to make a leopard change its spots. Such egocentric thinking keeps us from ever accepting that we could be wrong. Our reality can even tell us we don’t need to find recovery. This is denial and denial keeps us from taking responsibility for ourselves and for our actions. We are told to live with no regrets but some people living in recovery have regrets and also we have our pains. This is from the reality of living in impaired functioning. Sometimes we cannot right that which cannot be made right. Living with the memories of the unreal world of impaired functioning will probably trouble us until the day we die. If we accept this we will be given the gift of hope and in this hope is the calming of delusional egocentric thinking. Then we will be given the challenge of one day at a time recovery. We live in recovery one day at a time – regrets and all. Neither the past nor the future own us. We live in today. Today is a gift. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of investing time in their recovery. Reality tells us that we people living with mental health disorders accompanied with addiction need to participate in our wellness one day at a time by staying abstinent one day at a time. We understand that some of us need to take medication prescribed by a practicing physician to be healthy enough to become and stay healthy. Many of us join support groups and 12 step programs. Both are good for us because practicing the knowledge, the abilities and the experiences of both ways is investing time in our recovery. Also the reality of belonging and living an inextricable bond with people, especially with others living in recovery, can nullify any thoughts of aloneness. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have alone time, and it doesn’t mean we cannot make our own decisions, it means such inextricable bonding with those we are akin with gives the opportunity to draw from an incredible amount of experience, strength and hope so should we choose to. When we learn to pay attention we will understand the gift that others have been. For some of us we can draw support from others just by learning day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year the reality of how much wisdom we have been exposed to. Freedom, abstinence and reality are drawn from investing time in our recovery. It all starts with reaching out. Please do so. Peace.
Some creative people who are living in one day at a time recovery walk through life like stumbling eagles. We create what seems to be our own stumbling journey creating mishaps and analogies of broken lives that are then transformed into heroic ventures of courage and adventure. Our reality is we are just stumbling eagles who are not so heroic, and not so courageous but we do surrender reaching out to God, the spirit or the universe in desperation asking that we may fly and join the company of the eagles who fly at ease soaring high on the breaths of a wind able to be in a majestic recovery ever so certain and free in life like the other people who find life, recovery and reality quite easy and truly just second nature. We discover our answer after a bit is sometimes it is. We also discover though that all eagles stumble from time to time and that they are much better in the soaring the bright blue skies. Everybody is. Creative people learn this after they learn to let go. Stumbling is part of the adventure. Courage is getting up and soaring like we are meant to. We know no other way. Peace.