Latest / Sober Readings / Unremitting Inventories
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning everyone, welcome back to Sober Readings. My name is Scott, and I'm glad you're here with me today. It is Tuesday, the 13th of October. Today we're gonna read from Daily Reflections, 24 Hours a Day, and a story from The Grapevine. Let's get started today, like we always do, 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. Unremitting inventories. And this first section is from Alcoholics Anonymous, page 84. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. The reading goes on to mention how ego, fear, and pride can get in the way of my immediate admission of wrong thoughts or actions, and only through unremitting inventories of myself I admit, acknowledge, and accept responsibility for my wrongdoing. This reading reminds me that one of the biggest obstacles to admitting when I'm wrong is my own ego, fear, and pride. My ego wants me to believe I'm right. My pride doesn't want me to admit I've made a mistake, and my fear worries about what others might think of me if I acknowledge my shortcomings. Together, these things can keep me from taking responsibility for my thoughts and actions, sometimes even when I know deep down that I'm wrong. This is why unremitting inventories are so important to my recovery. Unremitting simply means continuous or never ending, and in the context of sobriety, it's not It means regularly examining my thoughts, motives, attitudes, and behaviors, rather than waiting until the end of the day to recognize where I've gone wrong. The tenth step reminds me that when I am wrong, I should promptly admit it. Not tomorrow, not when it's convenient, and certainly not after I've convinced myself that someone else was responsible. The longer I wait, the more opportunities I give my ego to justify my behavior. And my pride to make excuses. Taking a t continuous inventory helps me recognize these things as they're happening, accept responsibility for my part, and make things right before resentment, guilt, and dishonesty have a chance to grow. I've learned that admitting when I'm wrong isn't a sign of weakness. It's an act of humility, honesty, and spiritual growth. And perhaps most importantly, it reminds me that I don't have to be perfect to stay sober. But I do have to be willing to recognize my mistakes, own them, and do something about them. Today's reading from twenty four hours a day The AA Thought for the Day AA work is one hundred percent voluntary. It depends on each and every one of our members to volunteer to do his or her share. Newcomers can sit on the sidelines until they have got over their nervousness and confusion. It goes on to say but the time inevitably comes when they have to speak up and volunteer to do their share in meetings. And today's question has my time come to volunteer? The Meditation for the Day. God's kingdom on earth is growing slowly, like a seed in the ground. In the growth of His kingdom there is always progress among the few who are ahead of the crowd. Do not misspend time over past failures. Count the lessons learned from failures as rungs upon the ladder of progress. And in today's prayer for the day, I'm asking that I may be willing to grow. And keep stepping up on the rungs of the ladder of life. And what I take away from this reading comes from the first part of this reading, the AA Thought for the Day. One of the things that makes Alcoholics Anonymous so special is that the program survives because of the willingness of its members to give back. There are no paid professionals running our meetings or carrying the message of recovery. It's ordinary people. Alcoholics helping other alcoholics who keep the doors open. Coffee brewing and keep the message alive. Volunteering isn't just important to the survival of the program, it's vital to the continued sobriety of its members. When I make myself available to help others, I get outside of my own head, put aside my selfishness, and remind myself that recovery is about something much bigger than me. For newcomers, I believe it's important to first sit, listen, learn. And begin building a foundation in recovery. Nobody should feel pressured to take on responsibilities they're not ready for, but that doesn't mean they can't start helping in small ways right away. Making coffee, setting up chairs, greeting someone at the door, or simply staying after to help clean up are all opportunities to be of service. As we grow in sobriety, we become better equipped to take on greater responsibilities and help carry the message to those who are still suffering. I have to remember that the program was here when I needed it because somebody before me was willing to give their time and effort without expecting anything in return. Now it's my responsibility to do the same for the next person who walks through those doors. The program doesn't survive because of what we take from it, but because of what we're willing to give back. And I found that the more I give of myself in service to others, the stronger my own recovery becomes. And so for today's final reading, I'm gonna read a short story from the Grapevine. This is titled Defending AA. After a heated debate on the internet, a member learns a lot about putting on her gloves for AA. The importance of both Traditions 10 and 11 was brought home to me recently in my excessive zeal to protect AA's good name. When they were approved by AA's first general service conference in 1950, press, radio, and films, what today are known as the mainstream media, were all AA had to consider. But with the evolution of the internet, there has been an explosion in our channels of communication. This presents tremendous opportunities for AA to carry our message of recovery, but these new ways of communication also carry dangers. Today, there are many fellowship websites as well as a bewildering range of links to other groups, some of which are virulently hostile to AA. I once made the mistake of challenging one of these groups, in which a writer accused AA of being responsible for the disease concept of alcoholism. He asserted that no one was powerless over alcohol and that addiction was a choice. I pointed out that AA literature, especially the big book, is careful not to describe alcoholism as a disease, but uses terms like illness or malady. This resulted in a lengthy correspondence which became more and more heated, though not more illuminating. I found myself lying awake at night planning my next email salvo. To demolish my ignorant adversary. To gather ammunition, I wrote to AA's General Service Office in New York, but with great good humor, they gently refused to take my side. This was part of the letter I received from the public information assignment staff member. There was a recent television program in the United States which was highly critical of the AA program and generated anger and antagonism. The numerous requests for this AA office to react or defend Alcoholics Anonymous were met with a gentle reminder about our tenth tradition. We also pointed out Bill W's guidance in Concept twelve. Let us suppose that AA does fall under sharp public attack or heavy ridicule. And let us take a particular case where such pronouncements happen to have little or no justification in fact. Almost without exception, the It can be confidently estimated that our best defense in these situations would be no defense whatever, namely, complete silence at the public level. This public relations policy is one which we at this office heartily endorse. We also believe that it ought to serve as a thoughtful guide to all members of the fellowship. Though a response to outside criticism may, of course, be done on a personal level. The mere fact of offering an opinion as an AA member may lead to a public discussion where the line between the personal and the fellowship's opinion may become blurry in the public's mind. Our role as a society of recovered alcoholics helping others does not endow us with any medical or scientific stature. Therefore, the issue of a medical determination of a disease is something on which AA could have no position. Our traditions are clear in reminding us to not be diverted from our primary purpose as a fellowship, and as members of that fellowship we should respect the limitations we have. Dr. Silkworth's view of alcoholism is still contained in the basic text Alcoholics Anonymous, though as a separate and distinct foreword. It may lack a certain medical credence these days, though the ideas still resonate with many AAs and newcomers. I learned my lesson. I stopped springing to AA's defense when I saw our fellowship traduced or misrepresented in the media. As the long form of Tradition 11 says, there is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better that our friends recommend us. Apart from anything else, these sometimes egotistical but often well-meaning interventions were enticing distractions. That enfeebled my primary purpose, which is to stay sober and as far as I can help other alcoholics to get sobriety. And that was written by an anonymous member. That's all for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you all for listening. I hope something you heard today sticks with you and helps you throughout your day. If you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings and share your experience, strength, and hope, or your take on today's readings. 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, soberreadings.com, where you can learn more about sober readings and stay connected. 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