Latest / Sober Readings / Today, It's My Choice
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning, welcome to Sober Readings. Today's Tuesday, the 10th of March. Today's reading from Daily Reflections. Today, it's my choice. We invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self, which later placed us in a position to be hurt. That's a line from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, page 62. With the realization and acceptance that I had played a part in the way my life had turned out, came a dramatic change in my outlook. It was at this point that the AA program began to work for me. In the past, I had always blamed others, either God or other people, for my circumstances. I never felt that I had a choice in altering my life. My decisions had been based on fear, pride, or ego. As a result, Those decisions led me down a path of self-destruction. Today, I try to allow my God to guide me on the road to sanity. I am responsible for my action, or inaction, whatever the consequences may be. Reading from 24 Hours, March 10th, AA Thought for the Day. We also strengthen our faith by working with other alcoholics and finding that we can do nothing ourselves to help them except to tell them our own story of how we found the way out. If the other person is helped, it's by the grace of God and not by what we do or say. Our own faith is strengthened when we see another alcoholic find sobriety by turning to God. And finally, we strengthen our faith by having quiet times every morning. So ask yourself, do I ask God in this quiet time for the strength to stay sober this day? The meditation for the day. My five senses are my means of communication with the material world. They are the links between my physical life and the material manifestations around me. But I must sever all connections with the material world when I wish to hold communion with the Great Spirit of the universe. I have to hush my mind and bid all my senses be still before I can become attuned to receive the music of the heavenly spheres. prayer for the day. I pray that I may get my spirit in tune with the spirit of the universe. I pray that through faith and communion with Him, I may receive the strength I need. And finally today, a reading from As Bill Sees It, page 257. Key to Sobriety. The unique ability of each AA to identify himself with and bring recovery to the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning, his eloquence, or any special individual skills. The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. That's from the 12 and 12 pages 150 to 151. In my first conversation with Dr. Bob, I bore down heavily on the medical hopelessness of his case, freely using Dr. Silkworth's words describing the alcoholic's dilemma, the obsession plus allergy theme. Though Dr. Bob was a doctor, this was news to him, bad news. And the fact that I was an alcoholic and knew what I was talking about from personal experience made the blow a shattering one. You see, Our talk was a completely mutual thing. I had quit preaching. I knew that I needed this alcoholic as much as he needed me. That's from AA Comes of Age, pages 69 to 70. And that's it for today's readings. Thanks for listening. I'd like to go back to that last paragraph real quick before we close out today. The line that says, I knew that I needed this alcoholic as much as he needed me. It might seem a bit dramatic to people that are non-alcoholics or are not in the program. They might not understand what that means. And I've also seen people that stray from the program and the fellowship and then eventually relapse because I was one of them. And when I came back from my relapse, a close friend of mine in the program said to me, stay close to the program, stay close to the program. And now I know what he was talking about. It's this connection with other alcoholics, with people in the rooms, that really helps to keep me sober today. Because through our shared suffering and sharing that with each other, I realize that I'm not alone. That we are not alone in this battle against alcoholism. That making that connection with other alcoholics in the rooms or even outside of the meetings is so essential to my sobriety today. not only my sobriety, but my mental well-being. Like it just makes my life better. So what are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear how you keep sober and how helping other alcoholics helps your sobriety today. Send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com or you can go to my website soberreadings.com and fill out the form. While you're there, follow the show by clicking that scrolling red link. And if you'd like to drop a dollar in the donation basket for today's reading, you can click that donate button. So again, thanks for listening today. Hope everyone has a great day. Take care of yourselves and each other. And remember, just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day. And as my friend Larry says, best day ever.