Many people living in one day at a time recovery get to understand the conversion of reality. We become witness to this because the experience of one day at a time recovery becomes the dismantling of a self-obsessed delusional way of thinking that held us hostage because of the need for unhealthy and unbridled escape which we often sought by participating in active addiction and its diminishing thought process. In our minds we were either great or nothingness with no concept of being a part of instead of a part over or a part under. When we become a part of we understand we are no better or no worse than any other person. Our conversion is we can equally participated in life and recovery while giving and taking all in the same breath. Most of us realize we are not leaders. What we get to understand is that we have joined the world of the living and our conversion which is not perfection allows us to live our imperfect lives experiencing our new found reality in one day at a time recovery. Our conversion welcomes us to the reality of grace and the imperfect beauties of life. It also helps us to adapt to the reality of adversity. We become grateful. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the non-reality of control. Wanting to control everybody and everything is the desire and the undertaking of the fear based heart. When we think like this we wonder if we will ever be able to draw a relaxing easy breath again. Those of us living in recovery know this feeling and we hear ourselves screaming inside questioning ourselves how can we be healthy and in recovery if we are not in control. Those who have been in recovery tell us when we surrender ultimate control we are actually gaining control over what we can control. What those with a bit of time in recovery tell us is when we let go of absolute control we are actually gaining control of the choices we make. When we are capable of making healthy choices it is more than likely we will be able to let go of absolute control. We understand what others mean by letting go. In the rooms of recovery we hear that we should let go and let God and not let go and let me. We are no longer living in a world of self with the need for absolute control and perpetual certainty. If we believe we need to live in absolute control we are probably delusional. Letting go becomes our friend. One day at a time recovery teaches us this. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of having mistaken hearts. Before we become participants in recovery often we felt as though we just didn’t belong. Perhaps we even felt like it was us against the world. Sometimes while living in our own delusional thoughts we believed we were the world. Such aloneness becomes a heavy, heavy load to carry. Carrying such a heavy burden often is found in the inner-most depth of our mistaken hearts. Some of us believe our disorders clouded our view of life so badly we just couldn’t see reality which is we were not alone in feeling alone. We also learned that our hearts were mistaken when we thought that we just didn’t belong, and in one day at a time recovery we understood we are inextricably connected to people who we meet in the rooms of recovery. The common bond we share is we all want to help each other find and stay in recovery one day at a time. We also understand that God, the spirit, the energy or the universe works through those we are akin with and we make peace with the reality of living with humility. This is the gift of belonging. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery make an imperative decision early in their recovery and this decision is to be healthy enough to realize and understand the importance of abstinence. In all reality this decision of understanding (or belief) is that something outside of ourselves has the power to make us participants of such sound thinking. Some of us call this power God, the spirit, the energy or the universe. For some of us, well we call it going fishing. When we are restored to healthy thinking (sanity) we comprehend the importance of one day at a time abstinence. Our healthy reality, or recovery, depends upon such a belief. This is the gift and the practice of one day at a time humility and in this humility we develop gratitude. Humility and gratitude are a common facet of one day at a time recovery. We are becoming healthy. Sometimes we need treatment from medical professionals to understand our reality enough to understand the importance of our participating in our recovery and if we do it is imperative we do as such. Becoming or maintaining wellness is depended on healthy thinking. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery live similar realities. One of the realities we share is that mental health disorders complicated with active addiction led us all in one way or another to hit a bottom that required us to say to ourselves, and often others, no more. Sometimes we find ourselves facing ultimatums from loved ones that demand that we stop using in hopes that we will become healthy enough to stop our irresponsible and sometimes manipulative or even abusive behaviors. These ultimatums are in all reality the setting of boundaries. Some of us have had to face legal difficulties. Many of us know such bottoms and we know that our inability to accept personal responsibility is truly unhealthy thinking. When we believe we can be restored to healthy thinking we will find what many of us in recovery call becoming sane once again. In all reality we know we cannot do this by ourselves. We believe that God, the spirit or the universe often works in our lives through circumstances and very often through other people which gives us the gift of reality and good health. If we pay attention we are witnesses to divine intervention and a growing spiritual experience or awakening. It’s reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery understand the reality of living with unhealthy thinking. For most of us we often wondered if were sane at all. Our reality seemed to based on escaping reality through active addiction and unhealthy thought processes. We became delusional, egocentric and fearful people who were on self-destructive journeys. Our reality became to reach out for help from something more powerful than ourselves. What life revealed to us was it was our best thinking that made us delusional, egocentric and fearful people. We came to a belief that we needed to be healthy. In our reality we were sick and tired of being sick and tired. We were people who developed cracks in our armor and when we did reach out the light shone in. Many of us reached out for professional help. Many of us joined people in the rooms of recovery gaining insight into our own dilemma and also its solution. We stopped being alone. We might have even reached out to some conception of God, the spirit or the universe. The idea is we were unhealthy and we needed help to become healthy. Accepting this is imperative to one day at a time recovery. Life reveals this to us. It’s our hope. Peace.
There is a condition that many people living in one day at a time recovery learn to take caution of and that is the condition of being hungry, angry. lonely and tired. When being hungry, angry, lonely and tired descends upon us like a perfect storm we know we are in the midst of the condition which is dubbed with the acronym called HALT. HALT has made a good many of us fall back into active addiction. We avoid facing HALT alone and we reach out for support when HALT bears its fangs. We have been told by those with experience any of these conditions without support is dangerous. This is the reality of being part of with those we are akin with who are in the rooms of recovery. Even just one of these is slippery when our spiritual condition is lacking. Another thing HALT becomes dangerously magnified when it’s hot. We reach out to those we are akin with and drink some cool water and get out of the heat. Perhaps we go to a meeting and we just don’t pick up. We’ll be okay. One day at a time we live in recovery. Peace.
Many people living in pain or feeling any degree of aloneness continue to feel such a way until they either overcome their pain or become masters of their own being by continuing to be victorious over such ill-fitted fates. In reality very very few people succeed in such endeavors until somebody else gets them. When somebody gets us that should end the aloneness we feel. Those people who get us we are akin with. We also get them. Now we understand the reality of life and one day at a time recovery which is others get us and we get them. We have met our kin and unless we are delusional we understand that people are inextricably connected and those we are akin with are people that we get in awesome and unique ways. We shared similar pain and similar aloneness and we also share similar wellness, recovery, freedom and joy. In our humble humility others have inspired us to step out of our aloneness and join them in the practices and the skills of wellness, recovery, freedom and joy. Their are even times they hold us up when we cannot stand up ourselves. In all reality all people are imperfect. That’s our strength. When we are well we relate. Peace.
More often than not many of us who live in one day at a time recovery take a few minutes to collect our thoughts when we are writing. Taking a few minutes to think before sharing the experiences of our thoughts is something some of us should do more often but more often than not we believe we are sharing valuable information that could help a few people seeking to find recovery from mental health conditions accompanied by addiction. We tell people to reach out and get help. We tell people to join support groups and other venues in the rooms of recovery such as 12 step programs. Some of us tell people we have done well receiving treatment from mental health professionals but we do not claim to be a mental health professional because if we are not we know better. Our reality and our imperfect recovery lets others know life is doable, good and very good at times. We also know life can bear with it the realities of difficult and at times the reality of depression. We know the Buddha said that life is suffering and we know that most people have a cross to carry. We simply want wellness for ourselves and others with freedom from active addiction one day at a time. We also know the deck is stacked against us. That is why we choose to reach out and have someone shuffle the deck for us giving us a chance. We know that the simple act of breathing that makes all people inextricably connected with each other and those we are akin with reveal or will reveal this to us in our recovery. Wellness makes this possible to see. We also believe that when we try to help others as we try to help ourselves we make God, the spirit or the universe smile. Wellness also makes this possible to see. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery know the reality of the flip side. The flip side is the reality of a change or the other side of things. Quite often it refers to a new beginning or a refreshed beginning such as finding sustainable abstinence from addiction. It also refers to a manageable life and good mental health. The reality of the flip side is the reality of one day at a time recovery which is the gift of hope for many, many people. In many cases it is the metamorphosis of a life style. Somehow God, the spirit or the universe has interrupted our pain giving us the beginning of a one day at a time reprieve from our disorders. If we don’t understand this early in our recovery the flip side makes itself evident and becomes the gift of opportunity after a bit of time in wellness. The flip side is the very heart of one day at a time living. It is the gift of turning it over or becoming well enough to change that which we can change. It’s an invitation to understanding the wisdom of the other. This is the reality of the flip side. Peace.