Enjoying the moment
I have never been in recovery for any addictions, however, I believe many of the recovery idealogies can be applied to every person in our world. One of the most significant lessons taught is the idea of, “One day at a time”. I suppose as an addict it is important to realize you are not in control but a higher being is in control and that you need only make it through one minute, one hour, one afternoon, one night, and ultimately one day at a time. The higher being will help you every minute. This idea gives us a feeling of realistic possibilities. Instead of being overwhelmed by the notion that the addict will never have another ______ again in their lifetime, they instead change their mindset to I will not have another ______ this minute, hour, afternoon, night or day. Giving anything up completely and absolutely is daunting for anyone of us.
So, how do I apply this idea to my life? My life is overflowing with responsibility, activity, deadlines, commitments, and obligations. I embrace my life and love it and all that goes with it. However, if I look at all of it at once I am overwhelmed; I teach 40 hours a week, but bring home at least 8 hours a week of homework to grade, I am in school working on earning my master’s degree in Theology, I attend a 3 hour class weekly, but have 6 hours worth of reading and studying to prepare to attend the class, I am a mom of 4 children, 2 in high school, 2 in grade school, and 3 of them are involved in sports on 3 different teams, which practice many times a week, I have 2 children who take music lessons once a week, one in a different state, I have a house to try to keep clean, laundry to keep us all clothed, food to purchase, prepare and eat, bills to write, a checkbook to balance, a body to keep healthy through daily exercise, a blog to write daily, a column to write weekly, and so many other things that I cannot think of now that I am overwhelmed by writing all of this down. This is why I try to live one day at a time. I have a calendar that I live by but there are always mistakes, meetings missed, events confused. I try to live one day at a time knowing that God is in control and with me every moment of every day. I took the picture on this blog while enjoying a walk with my son. I try to take in the moments in my life instead of being overwhelmed by everything at once.
So, I encourage you in your busy, hectic life, to live life one day at a time. Do not let yourself be overwhelmed by your schedules, responsibilities, or obligations. Instead live in the moment, do the best you can to schedule and organize your life and then leave the rest to God, who always has our backs. Try to take a deep breath and live one day at a time.
