One of the slogans in 12 step fellowships is HALT!

HALT stands for don’t get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. At first thought one might question what’s the connection between any of those and acting out?

However, as we stay sober and become more aware of our feelings, we realize the wisdom behind these slogans. All four of these states put us in an altered state of mind, and our rational brain stops working, instead we start thinking of our old behaviors, and they look “glorified” and as a possible solution to whatever our problem might be.

When we stay in our spiritual balance and in fit “spiritual condition” we make sure to take care of ourselves, to eat right, sleep right, keep our emotions in check and not get angry and resentful (resentment is the number one killer of addicts), loneliness is another killer as addiction is a disease of loneliness and isolation, and of course last but not least tiredness, when we are tired our brains don’t function properly and we can’t make rational choices.

So the next time you start thinking crazy, think HALT! And ask yourself am I in any states of HALT?

What “One Day at a Time” means to me.

One day at a time is like me going up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and throwing in a pebble, which, practically speaking, means I do the recovery work for that day (calls to others, meetings, prayer, working with sponsees, helping others, readings, singing spiritual songs, writing, etc). The next day, I throw in another pebble; and the next day, another pebble.

Eventually, the Grand Canyon will be filled with my pebbles, but that will take a lifetime. There are some days that I want recovery and I want it now, meaning I want to be fully recovered, fully spiritual, but God is the one who gives me the pebble. He doesn’t give me a boulder because he knows I can’t lift it. He gives me a pebble, and that is all I need to live one day at a time.