At a meeting recently, a fellow raised his hand and said I have one day back. Usually this isn’t something out of the ordinary. There are those who are chronic relapsers. They keep going out after a few days, weeks or months of sobriety. Usually they want to do it their way. In their arrogance they think they know better than people with years and often decades of sobriety. They refuse to listen to the advice of others with a lot more time and experience. This invariably leads to a slip and their having one day back.
In the case of the fellow who raised his hand, the scenario was quite different. He had 1 day back, but his slip was after 22 years of sobriety. He had a sponsor, sponsees, and a home group. What happened was that he had gotten very complacent. He had forgotten that we work the program one day at a time. Because he had so many years of sobriety he decided to cut back on meetings, and do much less program work. He forgot that having a lot of time was no guarantee for the present day. His failure to be emotionally and spiritually fit every day led to his giving in to his addiction.

Personal Reflection: How do I keep it green?