The phrase “one day at a time” is simple and profound. It is a phrase from the world of 12-step recovery, but has a biblical background. Think new manna or new mercies every morning. Or Jesus’ teaching against worrying about tomorrow.

One way to think about what it does mean, is to think about what it doesn’t mean.

The opposite of living one day at a time is to live life under the psychological weight of many or all days. It may indeed be wise to recall the mistakes of the past one wants to avoid repeating. And it is generally accepted wisdom to have aims in life, and to plan for the future. There is a huge difference, however, between the firm wisdom of recalling past errors and making future plans, and the sure insanity of trying to psychologically manage one’s entire life span – or indeed all history – with the limited resources of one’s present daily experience.

It is too much.

And so, as with the alcoholic, we don’t trouble ourselves with fixing every problem that we have at once, and we don’t worry about what may happen tomorrow. We focus. We channel our energies onto the present day.

The alcoholic cannot, meaning they are powerless to, psychologically bear the weight of stopping drinking forever. It is too much to hold in mind their entire journey of recovery. It is enough to focus ‘just for today’. The alcoholic does not concern themselves with ensuring today that they will not drink tomorrow, next week and so on. They concern themselves with the required actions to further their recovery today. They will pray today. They will help another alcoholic today. They will go to a meeting or make a phone call today. They will seek to be kind and loving towards all today.

Like the alcoholic, we are not God that we can look down upon this little cosmic timeline and work out a timeless eternal solution for how to rectify all the problems therein. No, we are at best partners of God, given just enough time, strength and capacity to affect what we can affect today.

This phrase dovetails well with the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
Like the past and the future…
Courage to change the things I can
Like today and only today…
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Like remembering to live one day at a time…