One Day At A Time

LIVING RIGHT


“Life is not a matter of having good cards … but of playing a poor hand well.”

–Robert Louis Stevenson

There are many things in this world we have no control over, such as: our gender, our stature, our race, or physical abnormalities. But we always have the power to choose how we deal with events and circumstances. We can always take the right action – if it is not predicated on achieving a favorable outcome.

The Big Book tells us that it is a “well-understood fact that in God’s sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return.”

One day at a time …

I must ask myself.

Am I living properly?
Am I living properly today?
Am I really trying at all?

~ Jeremiah ~

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Alcoholics are unable or unwilling, during their addiction
to alcohol, to live in the present. The result is that they
live in a constant state of remorse and fear because of
their unholy past and its morbid attraction, or the uncertain
future and its vague foreboding. So the only real hope for
the alcoholic is to face the present. Now is the time. Now is
ours. The past is beyond recall. The future is as uncertain
as life itself. Only the now belongs to us. Am I living in
the now?

Meditation For The Day

I must forget the past as much as possible. The past is over
and gone forever. Nothing can be done about the past, except
to make what restitution I can. I must not carry the burden of
my past failures. I must go on in faith. The clouds will clear
and the way will lighten. The path will become less stony with
every forward step I take. God has no reproach for anything
that He has healed. I can be made whole and free, even though
I have wrecked my life in the past. Remember the saying:
“Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more.”

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not carry the burden of the past. I pray that
I may cast it off and press on in faith.

Walk in Dry Places May 25 2026

Forgetting past failures
Living today.

“You never do anything right!” Some of us carry this accusation deep in our minds, perhaps from childhood. We remember past mistakes and failures, sometimes dregging them up again when new failures occur.

When we do this, we unduly burden ourselves with a past that should be released and forgotten. The result of past mistakes was a feeling of inadequacy and helplessness that prolonged our sickness. IN those troubled days, we were trying to solve our problems inways that actually made the problems worse. On that path, there was no hope of a real solution.

Today our failure and mistakes are but signs that we are will human and still fall short of perfection. But now we can use failure to good advantage and even learn from it. Our best progress will come when we separate ourselves from the mistakes and failures of the past.

Today I will not believe that “I never did anything right!” I will go through the day knowing that I am capable and effective, and have the help of my higher power in everything I do.

Just For Today - May 12 2026

Living With Spiritual Experiences


“For meditation to be of value, the results must show in our daily lives.”
Basic Text, pp. 45-46

In working our program, we are given many indirect indications of a Higher Power’s presence in our lives: the clean feeling that comes to so many of us in taking our Fifth Step; the sense that we are finally on the right track when we make amends; the satisfaction we get from helping another addict. Meditation, however, occasionally brings us extraordinary indications of God’s presence in our lives. These experiences do not mean we have become perfect or that we are “cured.” They are tastes given us of the source of our recovery itself, reminding us of the true nature of the thing we are pursuing in Narcotics Anonymous and encouraging us to continue walking our spiritual path.

Such experiences demonstrate, in no uncertain terms, that we have tapped a Power far greater than our own. But how do we incorporate that extraordinary Power into our ordinary lives? Our NA friends, our sponsor, and others in our communities may be more seasoned in spiritual matters than we are. If we ask, they can help us fit our spiritual experiences into the natural pattern of recovery and spiritual growth.

Just for today: I will seek whatever answers I may need to understand my spiritual experiences and incorporate them into my daily life.

Just For Today - April 29 2026

“What If….”

“Living just for today relieves the burden of the past and the fear of the future. We learned to take whatever actions are necessary and to leave the results in the hands of our Higher Power.”

Basic Text, pp. 90-91

In our active addiction, fear of the future and what might happen was a reality for many of us. What if we got arrested? lost our job? our spouse died? we went bankrupt? and on, and on, and on. It was not unusual for us to spend hours, even whole days thinking about what might happen. We played out entire conversations and scenarios before they ever occurred, then charted our course on the basis of “what if…” By doing this, we set ourselves up for disappointment after disappointment.

From listening in meetings, we learn that living in the present, not the world of “what if,” is the only way to short-circuit our self-fulfilling prophecies of doom and gloom. We can only deal with what is real today, not our fearful fantasies of the future.

Coming to believe that our Higher Power has only the best in store for us is one way we can combat that fear. We hear in meetings that our Higher Power won’t give us more than we can handle in one day. And we know from experience that, if we ask, the God we’ve come to understand will surely care for us. We stay clean through adverse situations by placing our faith in the care of a Power greater than ourselves. Each time we do, we become less fearful of “what if” and more comfortable with what is.

Just for today: I will look forward to the future with faith in my Higher Power.

Keep It Simple - - April 26 2026

Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold

~ Maurice Setter

Silver shines as bright as gold does. So often we forget this. So often we push, push, push. We forget to live for the moment. Trying too hard can be a defect of character. It can be a way we avoid life. Gratitude, being thankful, is key part of recovery. Not just gratitude for getting our self-respect back. Not just gratitude for having a Higher Power. But gratitude for the moment. We’re alive again. Let’s see each moment as a time to explore life..

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me to enjoy each moment. I have gratitude for being alive.

Action for the Day: I’ll list ten gifts of recovery for which I have gratitude.

WALK IN DRY PLACES - April 17 2026

WE CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN

Living here and now

Despite all evidence that we must live for today, some of us persist in trying to recapture the past. We may be holding a few good memories that we would like to bring alive today. More likely, we may also be re-fighting old battles in the hope that this time we’ll come out winners.

But since change is taking place everywhere at every moment, we can never return to any previous place or time. Time does march on, and we are part of the parade. Whether we were winners or losers in the past, we can live only in the here and now.

The good news is that we can retain any lessons from the past and put them to use today. If we have scalding memories of twisted relationships, we can remind ourselves that growth and understanding now place us out of harm’s way. And if we remember the things that did turn our right even in the confused past, we can reflect that even greater good is possible today.

Our home is never in the past. It is in the time and place where we are today. As we make the best of it, all of our future homes in place and time will improve, for “in God’s house are many mansions.”

Accepting the value of all of its lessons, I will close the door firmly on the past, knowing that I must devote all of my interest and energies to the present moment.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY - April 11 2026

A.A. Thought for the Day

In that alcoholic world, one drink always leads to another and you can’t stop till you’re paralyzed. And the next morning it begins all over again. You eventually land in a hospital or jail. You lose your job. Your home is broken up. You’re always in a mess. You’re on the merry-go-round and you can’t get off. You’re in a squirrel cage and you can’t get out. Am I convinced that the alcoholic world is not a pleasant place for me to live in?

Meditation for the Day

I must learn to accept self-discipline. I must try never to yield one point that I have already won. I must not let myself go in resentments, hates, fears, pride, lust, or gossip. Even if the discipline keeps me separated from some people who are without discipline, nevertheless I will carry on. I may have different ways and a different standard of living than some others. I may be actuated by different motives than some people. But I will try to live the way I believe God wants me to live no matter what others say.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be an example to others of a better way of living. I pray that I may carry on in spite of hindrances. 

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation 

A Day At A Time - April 5 2026

Reflection For The Day

Still another common thread we invariably see among slippers is that many of them felt dissatisfaction with today. “I forgot we live one day at a time,” or “I began to plan results, not just plan.” They seemed to forget that all we have is Now. Life continues to get better for them and, as many of us do, they forgot how bad it had been. They began to think, instead, of how dissatisfying it was compared to what it could be. Do I compare today with yesterday, realizing, by that contrast, what great benefits and blessings I have today?

Today I Pray

If I am discouraged with today, may I remember the sorrow and hassles of yesterday. If I am impatient for the future, let me appreciate today and how much better it is than the life i left behind. May I never forget the principle of “one day at a time.”

Today I Will Remember

The craziness of yesterday 

The Eye Opener #essentialsofrecovery.com #Recovery #living

We brought nothing into the world and shall take nothing out. We are in the process of living a lifetime, one day at a time. It is, therefore, reasonable that we should gather as much of the richness of living from each day as we possibly can.

Does it make you feel good all over when you spend a buck or two on some poor devil? Then don’t deny yourself this dividend of living. There is always the chance that your widow will blow it all making some guy happy after you are gone. 

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME

Time Management

It’s surprising that some alcoholics learn how to “live one day at a time” while drinking. It had to work that way, or their drinking life would have been even more intolerable. It was convenient to shut off thoughts of tomorrow if one had enough money to drink today. It was also convenient to blot out thoughts of yesterday, which only meant remorse.

In sobriety, living one day at a time is an excel-lent way to focus our minds so we can pour our energies into the work at hand. In reviewing the wasted yesterdays, we can always find ways that we could have been more productive and effective. But we missed opportunities because we were still struggling with regrets or fearing what might hap-pen in the future.

It’s never too late to change all that. We need neither regret the past nor fear the future. The AA secret is to make the best of today’s challenges. It may mean just chipping away at a massive problem that seems insurmountable. Living just for today, we can do today’s job well.

I’ll live comfortably and happily in the here and now. This means releasing the past and accepting the future as something I’ll deal with at the proper time.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation 

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AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

Live Serenely

When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday’s and sometimes today’s excesses of negative emotions — anger, fear, jealousy, and the like.

If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers. This doesn’t mean we need to wander morbidly around in the past. It requires an admission and correction of errors—now.

~ TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 88-89 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

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JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrecovery

Living In The Moment

“We regretted the past, dreaded the future, and weren’t too thrilled about the present.”

~ Basic Text, p. 7 

Until we experience the healing that happens when we work the Twelve Steps, it is doubtful that we can find a statement more true than the quote above. Most of us come to NA hanging our heads in shame, thinking about the past and wishing we could go back and change it. Our fantasies and expectations about the future may be so extreme that, on our first date with someone, we find ourselves wondering which lawyer we’ll use for the divorce. Almost every experience causes us to remember something from the past or begin projecting into the future.

At first, it’s difficult to stay in the moment. It seems as though our minds won’t stop. We have a hard time just enjoying ourselves. Each time we realize that our thoughts are not focused on what’s happening right now, we can pray and ask a loving God to help us get out of ourselves. If we regret the past, we make amends by living differently today; if we dread the future, we work on living responsibly today.

When we work the steps and pray each time we discover we’re not living in the present, we’ll notice that those times aren’t occurring as often as they used to. Our faith will help us live just for today. We’ll have hours, even days, when our full attention is focused on the current moment in time, not the regrettable past or fearful future.

Just for today: When I live fully in each moment, I open myself to joys that might otherwise escape me. If I am having trouble, I will ask a loving God for help.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec

LIVING

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”

–Marcus Aurelius

For years I did not live I simply existed. What many people take for granted I did not have: friends, vacations, job satisfaction, gratitude, family, communication and love of self. An aspect of my disease, my denial, was that I thought I was happy without having any evidence for such a feeling. Indeed, my lifestyle indicated progressive isolation. That’s illusion. A recovering alcoholic priest shared that early in recovery he saw a sunset and remarked, “How long has that been happening?” Like him, I missed so much!

Life is to be lived or endured. My spiritual recovery means that every day I reach out to life and grasp it, hold it, smell it–and smile.

God of life, let me live today. Let my “high” be the glory of the day. 

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrec

Living so fully. I can’t image what any drug would do for me.

—Joan Baez

When we were using alcohol and other drugs, our lives kept getting emptier. We tired to keep new things out of our lives. We were scared and tired. We saw feelings as bad. So we got high instead of feeling them.

Now we can live fully every day. We don’t want to block our feelings. We aren’t afraid to opening up to new things and people.

And the more we open up, the happier we are. Our feelings are free. They bounce around. They don’t get stuck. We feel alive. Sure, we feel pain and fear sometimes. But we feel joy, love, and laughter too. And, more and more often, we feel alive.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please help me live fully today. Help me notice my feelings.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list five things I’ve enjoyed in the last twenty-four hours. 

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One Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #OA #Overeaters

LIVING RIGHT

“Life is not a matter of having good cards …. but of playing a poor hand well.”

–Robert Louis Stevenson

There are many things in this world we have no control over, such as: our gender, our stature, our race, or physical abnormalities. But we always have the power to choose how we deal with events and circumstances. We can always take the right action ~ if it is not predicated on achieving a favorable outcome.

The Big Book tells us that it is a “well-understood fact that in God’s sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return.”

I must ask myself ~

One day at a time …
Am I living properly?
Am I living properly today?
Am I really trying at all?

~ Jeremiah ~ 

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Walk in Dry Places #essentialsofrec #Serenity #Emotions

Avoiding emotional whirlpools
Serenity

If we were rattling down a rough river, we would try to steer away from whirlpools and rocky rapids. Living each day requires the same alertness.
We’re asking for trouble if we drift into malicious discussions about other people… even those who seem to deserve it. We’re also sliding into rocky rapids if we get into supercharged arguments about political and religious issues.
How do we avoid touchy situations that can lead to violent arguments or terrible breakdowns in personal relationships? We can begin by recognizing that we’re not on this earth to judge, manipulate, or control other people. We’ll do well today to keep our own performance up to a good standard.
We can also respond correctly to people who seem hopelessly wrong. Borrowing an idea from one Twelve Step program, we can detach from such people with love, even if circumstances require continuing contact with them. At whatever cost, we must avoid emotional whirlpools and rocky rapids in life.


Looking ahead at the things might happen today. I’ll adjust my thinking for situations that could be troublesome or destructive. I will try especially hard to avoid trouble with my fellow workers.

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WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec #Time #Management

LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME

Time Management

It’s surprising that some alcoholics learn how to “live one day at a time” while drinking. It had to work that way, or their drinking life would have been even more intolerable. It was convenient to shut off thoughts of tomorrow if one had enough money to drink today. It was also convenient to blot out thoughts of yesterday, which only meant remorse.

In sobriety, living one day at a time is an excel-lent way to focus our minds so we can pour our energies into the work at hand. In reviewing the wasted yesterdays, we can always find ways that we could have been more productive and effective. But we missed opportunities because we were still struggling with regrets or fearing what might hap-pen in the future.

It’s never too late to change all that. We need neither regret the past nor fear the future. The AA secret is to make the best of today’s challenges. It may mean just chipping away at a massive problem that seems insurmountable. Living just for today, we can do today’s job well.

I’ll live comfortably and happily in the here and now. This means releasing the past and accepting the future as something I’ll deal with at the proper time.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

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TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrec #Simplicity #Recovery

A.A. Thought for the Day

The Prodigal Son “took his journey into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living.” That’s what we alcoholics do. We waste our substance with riotous living. “When he came to himself, he said: ‘I will arise and go to my father.’ ” That’s what you do in A.A. You come to yourself. Your alcoholic self is not your real self. Your sane, sober, respectable self is your real self. That’s why we alcoholics are so happy in A.A. Have I come to myself?

Meditation for the Day

Simplicity is the keynote of a good life. Choose the simple things always. Life can become complicated if you let it be so. You can be swamped by difficulties if you let them take up too much of your time. Every difficulty can be either solved or ignored and something better substituted for it. Love the humble things of life. Reverence the simple things. Your standard must never be the world’s standard of wealth and power.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may love the simple things of life. I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

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A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Attitude

Reflection for the Day

It’s time for me to realize that my attitude—toward the life I’m living and the people in it—can have a tangible, measurable, and profound effect on what happens to me day by day. If I expect good, then good will surely come to me. And if I try each day to base my attitude and point of view on a sound spiritual foundation, I know it will change all the circumstances of my life for the better, too. Do I accept the fact that I have been given only a daily reprieve that is contingent on the maintenance of my spiritual condition?

Today I Pray

Since my illness was spiritual—as well as physical and emotional—may I mend spiritually through daily communion with God. May I find a corner of quiet within me where I can spend a few moments with God. May God’s will be known to me. May I worship God from that inner temple that is in myself.

Today I Will Remember

To spend a quiet moment with God.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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