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.
Some people living in one day at a time recovery have difficulty adapting to stress and change. In reality anything which causes an adverse reaction that results in extreme anxiety in a person can be difficult for the healthiest of people. This means that even those who seem like they have it all together sometimes don’t always have it all together. This is the reality of life having its struggles for everyone from time to time. When we learn that we are not alone in having to live with adversity an unexpected thing happens which is we find hope. One day at a time hope is something we will discover when we realize we are inextricably connected with other people who live or seek to live in recovery. Our commonality is we all have had to struggle and we all will have to face adversity again. Our reality is we don’t have to do it alone. We take a breath and we reach out and in doing so we find strength in the other. Knowing we are not alone brings with it the experience of gratitude which makes adaptability easier. It’s our one day at a time reality. Those we are akin with show us this. Peace.
What many people living with mental health disorders which can be accompanied with addictions or concurrently living in recovery one day at a time get to experience the reality that there are good people living in what can be perceived as a difficult and sometimes frustrating world. We respect these people and appreciate these people, some of which who are our friends and our loved ones. They make navigating adversity much easier and we become earnest about living well and being in or staying in recovery one day at a time. We become a part of the solution and are glad to share this solution with those who need or want it. The good people who make the sharing of recovery possible are just plain good people. We cannot help to be anything but grateful. We discover a better reality. Peace.
Many people living in one day at a time recovery become introspective people. Sooner or later we become self-aware people who try to make such an awareness an act of ability to help others we are akin with. In doing so we hope to develop mature empathy and do not try to sugar-coat the reality of suffering that others experience. We know any type of pain sucks but we know life is doable and we know in all reality that life will get better. In mature empathy we become supportive people who do not just keep on bandaging the wounds that others experience but we do let them know that their wounds are in a way sacred. From our own healing experience we let others know that they too will become okay one day at a time. It’s the gift of imperfection and in this we find the other. Peace.