Addiction Recovery Treatment

The Meaning of One Day At A Time

The time to be healed is now. There is no need to postpone

the peace, prosperity and abundant life in addiction

recovery that we all deserve. Enlightened people throughout

the ages have understood this principle.

The Lord’s Prayer says, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Not

yesterday’s and tomorrow’s bread…but today’s. “Today is the

day of Salvation.” Bill W. suggested that we live “one day at a

time,” and that day is today! All life takes place in the present,

this very moment. This moment is a gift, that’s why it is called

the present.

But how can we understand this spiritual principle and put it

into action? Action that creates real change requires devotion,

attention, and focus…in the right direction. Here, we’ll review

some common mistakes people make in early recovery. Then,

we’ll talk about how you can apply a few simple suggestions

into your “One Day At A Time” routine in order to change your

life! Questions are welcomed at the end.

Understanding The Present Moment

When I was getting sober, I struggled with the one-day-at-a-

time logic. It didn’t strike me as very profound, because, after

all, I had been literally existing one day at a time in active

addiction. My life revolved around getting high, right now,

today.

In early recovery I spent a lot of my day living in the past,

worrying about past misdeeds and mentally revisiting the poor

choices that I had made. What a waste of time. I realize now

that I had developed and nurtured this fear based habit as a

distraction. Even though the past was unpleasant and filled

with error, at least I knew what happened. This was less

stressful than living in the present or with the uncertainty of the

future.

I also spent countless hours daydreaming about what I wanted

to do, own, or accomplish “someday” rather than taking daily

action to turn my dreams into reality. Granted ,this was more

productive than rehearsing the doubt and defeat of my past…

but it also was a waste of time. I did not yet understand the line

in the serenity prayer, “the courage to change the things I

can.” It meant the courage to take action right now. If I want a

better future, I need to start building it today.

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