It was the third of September
That day I’ll always remember, yes I will” – Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (The Temptations)
It just occurred to me that the subjects of my last two posts (Ernest Hemingway and Sir Edmund Hillary) both share my wedding anniversary date of September 3rd. Hemingway married his first wife, Hadley Richardson, on that date in 1921, and Hillary married his first wife, Louise Rose, in 1953. My parents were also married on September 3rd, in 1949, and I followed suit by getting married on that date in 1978 (which makes today my 40th wedding anniversary). I mention these events more as a trivial coincidence than anything else, but it did get me thinking about how important a singular 24-hour day can be in our lives.
Yesterday, I was reading Doctor Bob’s Nightmare, from The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which discusses the AA co-founder’s road to permanent sobriety. The personal story was written by Dr. Bob Smith nearly four years after his last drink. Dr. Bob had met Bill Wilson in May of 1935, in Akron, Ohio. Bill was a New York stockbroker, with about six months of sobriety, who “had gone to Akron on a business venture which had collapsed, leaving him greatly in fear that he might start drinking again. He suddenly realized that in order to save himself he must carry his message to another alcoholic.” That alcoholic in need was Dr. Bob.
After talking to Bill Wilson, Smith stopped drinking immediately, but relapsed three weeks later while attending a professional convention in Atlantic City. Returning to Akron on June 9, Dr. Bob was given a few drinks by Wilson so as to avoid delirium tremens. He drank one beer the next morning, to settle his nerves so he could perform an operation – this proved to be the last alcoholic drink he would ever have. That personal milestone date, June 10, 1935, has ever since been celebrated as the anniversary of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. Seventy-five years, and eleven days later, I attended my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, and have not had a drink since that date.
To think that one particular day (e.g. when an individual chooses to stop drinking alcohol) could become, not only the most important date for the recovering alcoholic, but also an historic date of celebration for millions of fellow AAs around the world, is pretty amazing to consider. Because sobriety is the most important thing in the life of a recovering alcoholic, most of us consider our “AA” birthday to be of far more importance than our “belly button” one. That is certainly true for me.
I have little doubt that July 4, 1776, was an extremely important date for Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both signers of the Declaration of Independence, and future Presidents of the United States of America. On that particular day, the 13 American colonies proclaimed that they were, henceforth, free of British rule. No small matter, that. Of course, that proclamation was met with resistance from King George III, and led to the Revolutionary War. Not only did the 4th of July become the most celebrated date in American history, but it was also on that date, on the 50th anniversary of their signing of the Declaration of Independence, that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died. Quite astonishing, to say the least.
Globally, perhaps no single day of the year is more anticipated than December 25th. Consider the religious, commercial, and familial importance of Christmas Day. It is the one day of the year when the air is filled with both expectation and anxiety. The joy of waking up on Christmas morning, watching children opening presents around the Christmas tree, and going to Christmas Mass, is oftentimes mixed with the stress of picking up relatives at the airport, not getting the day off from work, or burning the Christmas turkey in the oven. Nonetheless, the buildup of anticipation for weeks prior to December 25 is unique among all other days of the year. Likewise, there is a certain melancholy that occurs immediately after that date, as the Christmas tree gets dragged to the curb, and the last Bing Crosby Christmas album is stored until next year.
Of course, July 4th and December 25th are very important days to me, personally, because I am both an American patriot and a Christian. I “inherited” the profound import of those two days because they were already established long before I was born. But September 3rd and June 21st are unique, when looking at the most meaningful days in my life, because I chose them. I made two very important life-changing decisions on those specific dates that I choose to commemorate, and celebrate, for the rest of my life. Naturally, I also celebrate my “belly button” birthday, along with the birthdays of my family and friends, but those are just random dates on the calendar.
Which brings me to the crux of this post – “What action step could I take today that would positively transform my life so much that I would never forget the date?” “Is January 1 the day when I choose to improve my health by eating a more plant-based diet?” “Is today the day when I choose to “put a plug in the jug” and stop drinking alcohol?” “Is Sunday the day that I choose to begin being a weekly volunteer to feed the homeless at the local shelter?” At every moment in our lives, we have the opportunity to make these decisions, and take these action steps, to better our lives and the lives of those around us. Some would say that we have a moral obligation to do no less.
Ask yourself what it is that could most transform you, physically, mentally and/or spiritually, and choose to begin that transformation today. There’s 365 days to choose from. Make one of those days your own. Let that date mark a time in your life – perhaps one that you’ve been hoping or praying for – when you chose to serve others and, in so doing, became a better you in the process. Discover, for yourself, what a difference a day makes.
