Just for today - my ever evolving reflections on how to live well
In 12 step fellowships like Alcoholics Anonymous, you’ll often hear the slogan, ‘just for today’. In the Big Book of AA, the fellowship’s handbook to recovery, there is a section called just for today – a series of thoughts that together form a part-meditation, part-decree and part-commitment about how to live each day.
I left AA (and NA, OA, OA HOW, CODA, AlAnon, ACoA etc etc!) a long time ago – although I did go to UA and DA in the last 12 months – but the words ‘Just for Today’ are etched onto my psyche. I’ve decided, rather on a whim, to write my own list.
Just For Today – An Ever Evolving Meditation on How to Live Well
Just for today I will try to live through this day only and not tackle my whole life at once. I have shamelessly nicked this from AA, but I have done so in homage to the countless men and women who have come before me, to those who stand beside me, and to those who are yet to hit rock bottom. I also deleted the word problem, because life isn’t a problem, it’s a gift. Just for today, I will connect to that.
Just for today I will do something creative. I will listen to what is calling me… dance, writing, drawing, playing with words, or something else. Somehow, today, I will express myself creatively. Life is short and unused creativity is not benign. Self-expression matters and always helps me feel more alive and fulfilled.
Just for today I will make my bed. This is one of those annoying tasks that I always feel glad about having done. When I make my bed I will remind myself that the details matter, that little things mean a lot, and that I can always choose to make tiny but significant changes.
Just for today I will Love. Love is a verb, not simply a feeling. It exists and is expressed through me, not simply to me. I will remember that love comes naturally to me and that when all is said and done with my life, one of the only things that will matter will be how connected I felt to the people around me. I will show myself love and respect. I will find compassion for the people I resent. I will remember that everyone really is doing the best they can.
Just for today, I will allow myself to be changed. I will let the world impact and change me. I will not sequester myself away from being affected and impacted by the beauty and horror of life. I will allow my heart and mind to be changed for good by the ones I love.
Just for today I will trust. I will remind myself that every moment in my life has brought me to this place, and that I am safe even amidst the chaos. I will feel my feet on the ground, I will look up at the sky, and I will take a deep breath anytime I feel scared.
Just for today I will connect to the bigger picture in whatever way resonates: through yoga, my breath, gratitude and appreciation, quiet time, music, nature, connection with another human being or simply remembering to remember that everything is connected.
Just for today I will remember that I cannot do it all, but that what I do is enough.
Just for today I will focus. I will move my career forward. I will allow my work to be one way I make love visible. I will do something that matters.
Just for today I will find something to delight in. I will remember to laugh, smile and find at least three things to be grateful for, knowing that my reasons to be grateful are innumerate.
Just for today I will remember and consciously connect to my values. In connecting to them, I will allow them to guide me. Bhakti, Bold, Integrity, Joy, Wholeheartedness, Adventure, Connection, Creativity, Trust and Love (like an iron bell).
Just for today, I will pay attention to money. I will do my best to be a responsible and trustworthy steward of the money that flows in and out of my life.
Just for today I will take care of my body. She has been with me since before I took my first breath, and me feeling good about and in her is a powerful political act in a culture that teaches women to hate, reject and abuse ourselves.
Just for today I will drop into my body and will do my best to really be here. I will remind myself that I only get this day once, and I will try to live it fully. One day, this will just be a memory. Presence is powerful. I will not let my crazy monkey mind run my life.
Just for today I will try to remember that every single person I encounter was once a tiny, innocent baby and then a child, probably full of wonder, curiosity and playfulness. I will remind myself that each of us is both a drop in the ocean and the entire ocean in a drop, that we are made of stardust, that there is always more to us than meets the eye.
Just for today, I will feel. I will do my best not to repress, avoid or numb my emotions – including and especially joy. I will be generous and brave with my heart.
Just for today, I will give myself a bloody break and let myself just be human. I will try not to have superhuman expectations of myself or others. Life is not a competition.
Most of all, I will let myself forge my own path. I will not cling rigidly to these words, but I will allow life to move through me and to remember that in the end, it’s all just a ride…
(Photo by Sergey Shmidt on Unsplash. Thank you, Sergey)