Just For Today, 24 Hours, ODAT
Living gratefully today, I fully appreciate the second and third chances life has given me. I give thanks for the hope that I feel as this day gets underway.
Our son Sam starts his senior year of high school today. I am on emotional roller coaster ride like none before as a parent, and this ride will likely go on for the next couple of years. Hang on! I am so proud of you Sam and I love you dearly.
Tomorrow I will return to the "17 Points of Clarity," but today I write about the other disease that is part of my life story--alcoholism. I mark another year of sobriety on this date, but more importantly I celebrate this day of recovery. "One day at a time"(ODAT) is anything but trite when talking about recovery from addiction. And it may sound simple, but it is not always easy. Some days, hours, moments are grueling, painful tests.
Staying gratefully present helps each 24 hour segment go more smoothly. One drink was never enough. One day is, when I stay in it.
I have heard "Don’t get so many years that you forget the days." Sound advice.
Solid recovery, lived day by day, is not oblivious to yesterday or tomorrow, yet it is not stuck in the past or fearing the future. It is just doing my best to live fully today. That takes getting out of my own way and the caring support of many others, as well as a Higher Power/Great Spirit.
On a recent trip back home, I took a picture of this glass:
It's been around awhile. Probably something like 40 years. I often recall this memory when I see it. In August of 1986, after 464 days with no alcohol, and just white-knuckling it and being "strong," my alcoholic mind convinced me that I was "better" and could drink again. No one else was around, so I got a beer from the basement refrigerator, poured it in this glass, sat at the table and slowly drank it. Just to prove that I could stop at one.
That didn't last. I was to learn the valuable lesson of the progressive nature of alcoholism. Though I was never a daily drinker, I was soon getting drunk again and blacking out almost every time I drank. I would continue that pattern for three more years. I was intervened on in more ways than one, and found myself finally willing to seek help.
I continue to seek that help today. Never alone against this formidable disease, I have many friends and guides in recovery, and supportive family and friends outside of my recovery circle. I also have a Higher Power who has shown me grace and gratitude, humility, willingness, unconditional love, patience. A Higher Power who works through other people in amazing ways.
A resounding thank you to all who have helped me in my ongoing recovery. Onward! A day at a time.
Our son Sam starts his senior year of high school today. I am on emotional roller coaster ride like none before as a parent, and this ride will likely go on for the next couple of years. Hang on! I am so proud of you Sam and I love you dearly.
Tomorrow I will return to the "17 Points of Clarity," but today I write about the other disease that is part of my life story--alcoholism. I mark another year of sobriety on this date, but more importantly I celebrate this day of recovery. "One day at a time"(ODAT) is anything but trite when talking about recovery from addiction. And it may sound simple, but it is not always easy. Some days, hours, moments are grueling, painful tests.
Staying gratefully present helps each 24 hour segment go more smoothly. One drink was never enough. One day is, when I stay in it.
I have heard "Don’t get so many years that you forget the days." Sound advice.
Solid recovery, lived day by day, is not oblivious to yesterday or tomorrow, yet it is not stuck in the past or fearing the future. It is just doing my best to live fully today. That takes getting out of my own way and the caring support of many others, as well as a Higher Power/Great Spirit.
On a recent trip back home, I took a picture of this glass:
That didn't last. I was to learn the valuable lesson of the progressive nature of alcoholism. Though I was never a daily drinker, I was soon getting drunk again and blacking out almost every time I drank. I would continue that pattern for three more years. I was intervened on in more ways than one, and found myself finally willing to seek help.
I continue to seek that help today. Never alone against this formidable disease, I have many friends and guides in recovery, and supportive family and friends outside of my recovery circle. I also have a Higher Power who has shown me grace and gratitude, humility, willingness, unconditional love, patience. A Higher Power who works through other people in amazing ways.
A resounding thank you to all who have helped me in my ongoing recovery. Onward! A day at a time.
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