December 7, 2011
One Day at a Time 0
One day at a time, what a difficult scenario to wrap my head around. How do I focus on today and not worry about whats coming tomorrow, or what has happened in the past? It can be a complicating task learning to let go of yesterday and not worry about tomorrow. I find myself falling into the past and thinking about what tomorrow will bring. How do we live in the moment, how do we let the past be the past and how do we not wonder what tomorrow will bring?
I often find myself stressing about what I have to do this week or what I failed to get done yesterday. When am I going to have time for this or for that, what if this happens what am going to do about it? Will I have time to do what needs to be done today plus pick up with what I didn’t get done yesterday. These are just some of the questions that enter into our head when we have one foot in the past and one foot in the future.
It really does sound simple though-one day at a time. Ok, just live for today, dont worry about yesterday and dont focus on tomorrow. How hard could that be? Well for me, it can be real hard sometimes. I can live one day at a time, sometimes one moment at a time if I follow the steps of AA/NA or any 12 step program, and I listen to what they are telling me in the rooms. I have learned along the road through sobriety to forgive people a lot easier, therefore I am letting go of the past before it becomes the past by forgiving them right at that very moment. I have learned to let go of my past resentments before the day comes to an end. AA/NA has taught me how not to gain resentments in the first place.
We as addicts/alcoholics or just anybody for that matter, want what we want when we want it and for me I have to learn that it is in my higher power(Gods) time, not mine. I know when I try to take control of my destiny or my life, then I steer myself right into a one way road that leads straight back to the pitts of hell, yet on the other hand if I allow God to gain and keep control of my ship then everything just seems to flow naturally the way it should. I ask myself, what would God do in this situation, or what is the next right thing to do? If I follow those simple suggestions then I always end up doing the right thing and in turn it keeps me healthy and usually keeps a smile on my face.
I have to learn to live for today during today. I can’t allow myself to worry so much about what happened to me in the past or what is going to happen to me tomorrow. We are not promised tomorrow, so why worry about it until it comes. I know it sounds simple, but that isn’t always the case.
They taught me in the rooms that I have to be completely honest with everyone, including myself except when to do so would harm me or others. As long as I follow this suggestion then I am sure to be going in the right direction. When I find myself dwelling on the past or dreaming about what the future will bring I have no time for today. Today is what is important. I can not go back and fix yesterday and I definitely can’t control whether I am going to see tomorrow or not. I must live in the moment, live today as if it is my last and I want my last day here to be sober. Stay in the moment and get through whatever it imay be so that we are capable of moving on to the next situation when it arises.
We are all here for one general purpose and that is to maintain our sobriety one day at a time and to help the next person maintain theirs as well. How am I going to be able to do that if I am stuck in yesterday or dreaming about tomorrow? The best I can do at any given moment is stay sober for today and IF and when tomorrow comes then I will worry about it when it gets here. Tomorrow may or may not come, no one knows whether it will or not but if it does I will start over again and live one day at a time staying sober one second at a time if thats what it takes. Focus on the moment that you are in and don’t trouble yourself with things that haven’t happened yet or with things that happened a long time ago. Live One Day at a Time
