Thursday, February 8, 2007

one day at a time

Last night I was reminded that I can't think beyond the day that I'm living. I have a good friend who has been in recovery from alcoholism a long time. This person hit bottom when fairly young and has been sober for many years. Sometimes I see the stress arise though and the decisions about work and worth come to the forefront. A particular issue that has occurred is taking a job out of town. Not only does that mean leaving the home AA group but also family and friends. I can see the struggle going on within but have to remind myself to mind my own business and take care of myself. If I allow myself to think about next month or next year or the future, I begin to build up expectations and resentment if the expectations aren't fulfilled. I imagine my friend is working hard to keep the focus on the here and now in order not to think too much about leaving.

In recovery, you hear about taking things "one day at a time". When I'm really depressed and anxious, I've had to take things one half hour at a time. Just for that half hour, I'll be happy or content. It helps to break the day down into those small increments and see if I can make it through without having a total meltdown. There are lots of things written about taking life "one day at a time". Here is one that I like:

I will try to live through this day only,
and not tackle all my problems at once.
I can do something for twelve hours that
would appall me if I felt that I had to
keep it up for lifetime.




2 comments:

  1. I have had moments of living one breath at a time.I guess we all have huh? One day at a time is my fave slogan..I wish everybody would learn to slow down and try living that way..can you imagine?
    Thanks for sharing.

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  2. It is good to live in the moment because that is all there is.

    The rest is in our mind only; the past as a memory, the future is imagined.

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