It all comes back to the basics. Always. I couldn’t help but think about this today. After several conversations with others, I was reminded of what is so basic to our staying sober.
These conversations were with others who are going through some pretty rough times. Something we all go through from time to time. I know I’ve had my share. But it reminded me of what I have always heard from the moment I came here. One day at a time.
What a relief that was. Just a day at a time. I didn’t have to live my whole life in my head anymore. All I had to do was think “It’s just for today”. That solved a lot of my anxieties and fears. If I just dealt with what was going on now and no further things became much easier.
If I just spent my time focusing on what was right in front of me right now, I could handle not drinking to start with. If I dealt with the present moment, I found that everything was all right. It was when I allowed myself to start thinking of what was ahead of me in the coming days or months that I would begin to slip into negativity and projection.
Those old ideas of don’t think, don’t drink, and go to meetings, helped me to begin to start living a day at a time. It helped me to start living a sober life. In fact it was the beginning of learning something I had no idea how to do. I didn’t know how to live life itself. I was really lost in the beginning, because booze wasn’t there to blot out the problems life holds for all of us. A day at a time was manageable.
It’s because of the philosophy of practicing a day at a time that I am where I am today. Sober. All those days at a time have added up to what time I have in this program. I didn’t get years in the program in one day, or one week, or one month at a time. They came from living one day at a time.
Those simple suggestions given to me, when I came in, still hold true today. Ask for help in the morning and give thanks at night for another sober day are still valid. If I find myself lost in the day in my own head, I know that it’s possible to stop my day and start my day over. I know how crazy it is to try to start a week, a month, or a year over. It’s what can make my life unmanageable. But for today it’s okay.
Anyway, just thinking about this; a day at a time. How simple and simplifying.