Today was a day for celebration for those sober individuals, whose anniversary was this month. Great moments, when they not only picked up a chip, but also shared their stories of how they got sober and saved their lives. Their gratitude and their joy at the solution they found in here, like so many of us, who shared that moment with them.
But one thing became clear to me, as I sat there listening to them. I’m going to do the same thing next month. And there I was thinking about this and then I thought, wait a minute. All I have ever done in here is to live one day at a time. Twenty-four hours of not drinking and staying sober and living a sober way of life. Then one day I wake up and guess what?
I find I have one year sober. Then one day at a time I wake up and find that I’m two years sober. Then one day at a time…
How did I get here? Just one day and the next and the next. It didn’t happen overnight. I came in here one day a long time ago. I didn’t get ten years sober or twenty the very next day. I got what I’ve got by staying sober and following the directions I was given from one day to the next. Eventually I acquired some time over time. Living my life dedicated to my primary purpose.
A lot of things happened to me from the first day up until now. I had to go through what I went through. The aches and pains and the joy, the serenity, the peace of mind, the ups the downs, the gains and the failures from being a human being, trying to live a spiritual life, as I was shown by others and the Steps and the literature. Not always easy. It took time to change me. I’d be up one day and down the next, especially in the beginning. I had to learn how to change, how to surrender, and accept this new way of living.
I knew it was the same for each one of those, who went up and got their chips today. I know it’s the same for each one of us. But I could hear the gratitude coming from them for what they went through to get to the point they were at, whether it was ninety days or forty-three years that one man had. Most could say that the awful pain it took to get them here was worth every minute of it and that they were grateful for that. I could well understand and agree.
Anyway I just had to sit down and think about all of this. I thought it has taken many thousand 24 hours to get this far. But just one day, like today, to get where I am. And where am I? I’m sober today. That’s all I have. The rest is history.
Still it makes me grateful to be where I am. Today. The celebrations and the symbols are there to show others that it’s possible to get sober and live a sober life, if they want it. I hope that they do. And it encourages those, sitting and watching and listening, to stay and do the same. I know it encourages me.