Spirituality And How Is Life Treating You. More Importantly, How Are You Treating Life?

One of the first slogans that I heard when coming into the AA Program was “One day at a time.” This was sometimes broken down into one hour, or one minute, at a time, or even less. I  have heard ever since to live in the moment because the past is gone and the future is not here yet. Part of the reason that I was in the madness was that I lived in the past and future and the present eluded me regularly. If we want to experience the power we have been given to create a life we enjoy living while we are in this world, we’ve got to wake up to our life as it’s happening. Otherwise, we may find our Earth life is over and we’ve been too groggy to enjoy it! I missed so much of what was going on around me, including my children growing up, that I constantly felt guilty and did not even know why. Jesus said in the Book of Matthew, “Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” This is using Affirmative Prayer in the present now for we still receive nothing from our pasts because it is gone and we receive nothing from our future because that is never here yet. When it finally arrives, it is no longer the future but is the now. See how simple it all is? Of course, not easy at first to even comprehend, but it is simple. So why fight it? We hear “One day at a time” frequently and that this is a ‘day at a time’ program, and similar. Living in the now has given me the freedom to enjoy being me. What a concept from a guy who hated himself. Why is it so that I can enjoy being me by simply living in the now? It is because the fears from the past and/or future are non-existent. If my mind is attentive to what is going on right now, there is no way it can think of the fearful thoughts of past or future actions or inactions. See, very simple! The difficulty comes from our lives up to the present where we lived almost everywhere but the here and now. But how do I know when and how to start doing this because I have done things in my life and the payment or repayment is coming due? In the now I tell myself to just do the next right thing, whatever that is, and move on. This is another one of those things that, although simple, can be very difficult. The Big Book relates that every character defect or problem has the same root, fear. What does this mean to someone who has a lot of time around AA? This is what tells me that when I am fearful, apprehensive, or just “not feeling right,” the root of this feeling is fear. In this case, fear is brought on by the thought of past or future events, real and imagined. Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday! Think about that a moment and you will begin to understand this concept. Don’t stop planning for future events but just have hope and not expectation. Don’t try to forget past events, good or bad, because we must learn from them. It is not only a rule or regulation installed by AA, churches, or any outside existence. It is a new WAY OF LIFE!. We have talked before about head learning and gut or heart learning. Don’t try to learn this like a lesson in school. Practice living and feeling it and soon it will also be your WAY OF LIFE, but only if you choose to do it. My son more or less did this and was able to withstand a long prison stretch of over a dozen years in his young life, coming out a much-improved person.  What you really want determines what you really will choose and, if you did not drink or drug today, you finally have choices. Choose wisely!