Latest / Sober Readings / Centering Our Thoughts
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- Scott Hayes: Hey good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Thursday, the 27th of August. My name is Scott. I am your host, and let's begin today's episode 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: Centering Our Thoughts. When World War II broke out, our AA dependence on a higher power had its first major test. AAs entered the services and were scattered all over the world. Would they be able to take the discipline, stand up under fire, and endure? And that's on page 200 of As Bill Sees It. I will center my thoughts on a higher power. I will surrender all to this power within me. I will become a soldier for this power. Feeling the might of the spiritual army as it exists in my life today. I will allow a wave of spiritual union to connect me through my gratitude, obedience, and discipline to this higher power. Let me allow this power to lead me through the orders of the day. May the steps I take today strengthen my words and deeds. May I know that the message I carry is mine to share, given freely by this power greater than myself. Today's reading from twenty four hours a day. August twenty seventh, AA thought for the day. We must be willing to make amends to all the people we have harmed. We must do the best we can to repair the damage done in the past. When we make amends, when we say, I'm sorry, the person is sure at least to be impressed by our sincere desire to set right the wrong. Sometimes people are making amends to admit their own faults, so feuds of long standing melt away. Our most ruthless creditors will sometimes surprise us. In general, we must be willing to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences may be for us. So the question here is have I made a sincere effort to make amends to the people I have harmed? Meditation for the day. The grace of God cures disharmony and disorder in human relationships. Directly you put your affairs, with their confusion and their difficulties, into God's hands. He begins to effect a cure of all the disharmony and disorder. You can believe that he will cause you no more pain in the doing of it than a physician who knows how to effect a cure would cause a patient. You can have faith that God will do all that is necessary as painlessly as possible, but you must be willing to submit to His treatment, even if you cannot now see the meaning or purpose of it. The prayer for the day. I pray that I may willingly submit to whatever spiritual discipline is necessary. I pray that I may accept whatever it takes to live a better life. Today's reading from Keep It Simple, Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal. Change requires intent and effort. It really is that simple. That's a quote from Roxanne Gay. The world hasn't changed. There are still as many bars as there were when we were drinking. There are still lots of drugs around. What's changed is that we now live a different way of life. We've put in the work and become very conscious of why we need to change. And all that effort and intent really did pay off. For us, there are now two worlds the world we left behind and our new world of recovery. In our old world, We try to get everyone else to change. We had to be right. In our new world, we look for ways we can change for the better. In our new life, it's simple. We make change. And the prayer for the day in this book is: I pray that I may keep it simple and be aware of how my actions keep me changing. And the action for the day. I will list changes I need to make in my new life. And for today's final reading, let's read from As Bill Sees It. Today we're on page three. Pain and Progress. Years ago, I used to commiserate with all people who suffered. Now I commiserate only with those who suffer in ignorance, who do not understand the purpose and ultimate utility of pain. And that was written in a letter in 1950. Someone once remarked that pain is the touchstone. of spiritual progress. How heartily we AAs can agree with him. For we know that the pains of alcoholism had to come before sobriety, and emotional turmoil before serenity. And that's on pages 93 to 94 of the 12 and 12. Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light, even though for the moment you do not see. And that is from another letter also written in nineteen fifty. And that's gonna do it for today's readings. Before I go, I'd like to comment on as Bill sees it, the second paragraph, it mentioned pain is the touchstone of spiritual progress. And in sobriety, that phrase means that some of my greatest growth comes from the experiences I would rather avoid. Pain, disappointment, fear, loss, and struggle can force me to look honestly at myself, ask for help, and rely on something greater than my own thinking. Sobriety doesn't promise me a life without pain. It teaches me how to walk through pain without drinking. When I face difficult moments instead of escaping from them, they can become opportunities to practice acceptance, humility, faith, And surrender. Looking back, I may find that the experiences that hurt the most were also the ones that changed me the most. So I'd love to hear your thoughts and your comments on pain is the touchstone of spiritual progress and how you live that in your life. You can leave your comments down below, or you can send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. And also, if you'd like to be a guest reader or just a guest on my show and we can talk about that. Also include that in your email. So that's it for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much for listening. If you like the show and you want to help share the message, click that like button and also share this episode with someone you think might need it. If you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, just go to my website, soberreadings.com, and scroll down a little bit until you find the donate button. So again, thank you so much for listening today. Stay sober. Keep reading, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Until then, 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, everyone, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.