Transcript

The Acid Test · Sober Readings

Scott Hayes: Welcome back to Sober Readings, everyone. Today is October 2nd. It is Friday. Happy Friday. My name is Scott, and I am glad you're here with me today. Today we're gonna read from Daily Reflections, 24 Hours a Day, a reading from Keep It Simple, and then finally, As Bill Sees It. Let's get started today with the Serenity Prayer. God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections, The Acid Test. As we work the first nine steps, we prepare ourselves for the adventure of a new life. But when we approach step 10, we commence to put our AA way of living to practical use, day by day, in fair weather or foul. Then comes the acid test. Can we stay sober, keep an emotional balance, and live to good purpose under all conditions? That's from page 88 of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. I know the promises are being fulfilled in my life, but I want to maintain and develop them by the daily application of step ten. I have learned through this step that if I am disturbed, there is something wrong with me. The other person may be wrong too, but I can only deal with my feelings. When I am hurt or upset, I have to continually look for the cause in me, and then I have to admit and correct my mistakes. It isn't easy, but as long as I know I am progressing spiritually, I am I know that I can mark my effort up as a job well done. I have found that pain is a friend. It lets me know there is something wrong with my emotions, just as a physical pain lets me know there is something wrong with my body. When I take the appropriate action through the twelve steps, the pain gradually goes away. Today's reading from twenty four hours a day. October two, AA Thought for the Day. What makes an effective talk at an AA meeting? It is not a fine speech with fine choice of words and impressive delivery. Often a few simple words direct from the heart are more effective than the most polished speech. There is always a temptation to speak beyond your own experience in order to make a good impression. This is never effective. What does not come from the heart does not reach the heart. What comes from personal experience and a sincere desire to help the other person reaches the heart. So ask yourself, do I speak for effect or with a deep desire to help? The meditation for the day. Thy will be done must be your off repeated prayer. And in the willing of God's will there should be gladness. You should delight to do that will because when you do, all your life goes right and everything tends to work well for you in the long run. When you are honestly trying to do God's will and humbly accepting the results, nothing can seriously hurt you. Those who accept the will of God in their life may not inherit the earth, but they will inherit real peace of mind. Today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may have a yielded will. I pray that my will may be attuned to the will of God. Today's reading from Keep It Simple. And since we're in the month of October, the 10th month, on the first page of October for this book, it says the 10th step prayer. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. So today is October 2nd, and the first reading says, And when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. That is obviously the second half of step 10. We are human. We make mistakes. This is half the fun of being human. Step 10 clearly tells us what to do when we are wrong. Admit it. This keeps us honest. It keeps us from hiding secrets that could cause us to use alcohol or other drugs again. Trust is a gift we get from step 10. When we admit our wrongs, people start to trust us again. We feel good, and people feel good being around us. Even when they don't like how we act. They can trust us to run our lives. No one will ever be perfect. The closest we get is that we admit it when we're wrong. This is as good as it gets. And the prayer for the day from Keep It Simple, Higher Power, help me admit my wrongs. Help me earn the trust of others by being honest about my mistakes and the action for the day. I will list any wrongs I've done today. That way I'll start tomorrow fresh and without any burdens from today. And for today's final reading, let's go to Asbel Sees It, and we're on page twenty four. Alike When the Chips Are Down. In the beginning, it was four whole years before AA brought permanent sobriety to even one alcoholic woman. Like the high bottoms, the women said they were different. AA couldn't be for them. But as the communication was perfected, mostly by the women themselves, the picture changed. This process of identification and transmission has gone on and on. The Skid Rower said he was different. Even more loudly, the Socialite, or Park Avenue Stumblebum, said the same. So did the artists and the professional people, the rich, the poor, the religious, the agnostic, the Indians, the Eskimos, the Veterans, and the prisoners. But nowadays, all of these and legions more soberly talk about how very much alike all of us alcoholics are when we admit that the chips are finally down. And that's from a article in the Grapevine dated October of nineteen fifty nine. And before I get to my take on today's readings, I just want to say it is amazing how a letter from nineteen fifty nine is so relatable even today. And that's why the literature in Alcoholics Anonymous, including the big book, especially the big book, are still very relevant. And now from my take on today's readings. Let's go back to 24 hours a day, the meditation for the day. And the first line begins with four words: Thy will be done. Thy will be done is only four words. But for me, they represent one of the hardest parts of sobriety, letting go of the idea that I'm in control. My will has gotten me into plenty of trouble. When I'm running the show, I want things to happen when I want them to happen. People to act the way I think they should act, and life to follow the plan I've already written in my head. And when it doesn't, I can become frustrated, resentful, anxious, or afraid. Those are dangerous places for me to live for too long. Thy will be done reminds me that maybe my job isn't to control everything. Maybe my job is simply to do the next right thing and trust the outcome to something greater than myself. In sobriety, I've learned that surrender isn't the same thing as giving up. Sometimes surrender is actually the harder thing to do. It means accepting what I can't change, asking for guidance instead of demanding a particular outcome. And being willing to follow a path even when it isn't the one I would have chosen. When I say thy will be done, I'm really saying I don't have to figure everything out today. I can show up, stay sober, help somebody else, go to a meeting, and make the phone call, and take care of what's directly in front of me. The rest doesn't belong to me, and there's a tremendous amount of freedom in finally realizing that. And that's all for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you all for listening. I hope something you heard today stays with you and helps you along your way today. If you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings and share your experience, strength, and hope, or just join me for a reading, there's a link in the show notes below to send me an email. You'll also find a link in the show notes to my website where you can learn more about sober readings and stay connected. Also, if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, Just go to the support page of the website and click the button that says drop a dollar in the basket. If you enjoyed today's episode and want to support sober readings, please subscribe to the podcast and give this episode a like. It really does help more people find the show. And if something you heard today made you think of someone, share the episode with them. You never know who might need to hear these words today. So again, thanks for spending a few minutes of your day with me. Be good to yourselves and others today and remember, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day everyone, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.