Latest / Sober Readings / Without Reservation
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning, welcome back to Sober Readings. Today is Sunday, the 27th of September. My name is Scott, and I am glad you're here for today's readings. 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 without reservation. When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love. That's on page thirty seven of As Bill Sees It. While practicing service to others, if my successes give rise to grandiosity, I must reflect on what brought me to this point. What has been given joyfully with love must be passed on without reservation and without expectation. For as I grow, I find no matter how much I give with love, I receive much more in spirit. Today's reading from twenty-four hours a day. September twenty seventh, AA Thought for the Day. Continuing the consideration of the term spiritual experience, what often takes place in a few months could seldom have been accomplished by years of self-discipline. With few exceptions, our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently identify with their own conception of a power greater than themselves. Most of us think this awareness of a power greater than ourselves the essence of spiritual experience. Some of us call it God consciousness. In any case, willingness, honesty, and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery. Have I tapped that inner resource that can change my life? The meditation for the day. God's power in your life increases as your ability to understand His grace increases. The power of God's grace is only limited by the understanding and will of each individual. God's miracle working power is only limited in each individual soul by the lack of spiritual vision of that soul. God respects free will, the right of each person to accept or reject his miracle working power. Only the sincere desire of the soul gives him the opportunity to bestow it. And the prayer for the day. I pray that I may not limit God's power by my lack of vision. I pray that I may keep my mind open today to his influence. And for today's final reading, let's go to the Grapevine from May of 2026. And the section, the featured section in this one is titled How the Steps Changed My Life. And this story that I'm going to read is titled Unmanageable by Daisy C in Mesa, Arizona. My car was backed into by a pizza delivery truck as I was rushing through a parking lot on my way to meet a friend for brunch, late as usual. The young man driving didn't have a license or insurance, only a state issued ID. I didn't call the police because, though it was only 11 30 AM, I was already quite drunk. This was usual for me, daytime drinking and driving and having to drink to prepare for every occasion. I turned over my insurance information and carried on with my meetup, leaving my damaged vehicle in the parking lot without a real care of the consequences. When I sobered up, I went to see how my car looked with a crushed headlamp and fender. I wasn't covered for collision and felt sorry for myself. What was once a cute car now was a wreck. This new damage to my car was added to an already unrepaired cracked windshield. and scratches up both sides from running into brick pillars in my carport. There were sheet metal screws holding the fender on, and a driver's side view mirror housing that was scratched and dented that occasionally dropped off when I slammed the door. Duct tape holding the headlamp in place was the final eyesore on this very mistreated vehicle. I was unwilling to fix the car and my insurance went up. Over time, I just got used to it. Years later, after I got sober, I was in an AA meeting and overheard someone describing my car as a real alcoholic's car. I cringed at being the butt of the joke. While I had found my way to sobriety, I hadn't fully reckoned with my past yet. It took more looking at myself and my behavior through fourth steps to realize that my car was evidence of my drinking journey. I eventually made peace with the past and drove the car for another few years, learning to accept myself. As I began to learn in AA to take responsibility for myself, I looked at how I wasn't a cooperative participant in my own life. As I continued to drive that wreck of a car, I reflected on my old behavior. My car was evidence of the lack of care I put into myself. Rather than ducking and running from the truth, I accepted myself and prepared the way for a new vehicle to come into my life. One that would reflect the more responsible me that was developing every day in AA. I learned that I had distorted views of how life should be. I came to know that accepting life on life's terms would be my path to freedom. I now have a new vehicle and my vision is clearer. I'm able to see how my life is improved when I practice the steps and fully participate in my recovery. And once again, that was from the May twenty twenty six. Edition of The Grapevine, and this was titled Unmanageable, written by Daisy C in Mesa, Arizona. And now here's my take on today's readings. Let's go back to Daily Reflections, and they use this word grandiosity. Grandiosity in sobriety doesn't necessarily mean I'm walking around thinking I'm better than everyone else. For me, it can be much quieter than that. It can sound like I've been sober long enough. I know what I'm doing. I don't need as many meetings. I don't need to call anybody. I've already worked the steps. I've got this. That kind of thinking is dangerous because it slowly convinces me that the things that help me get sober are no longer necessary to keep me sober. I've learned that sober time doesn't make me immune to alcoholism. If anything, grandiosity can make me forget just how quickly I can find myself right back where I started. The moment I begin believing that the rules somehow don't apply to me anymore, I don't Or that I'm different from the person sitting in their first meeting, I'm creating distance between myself and my recovery. Humility reminds me that I don't have to have this figured out. I just have to keep doing the things that work, stay teachable, and remember that no matter how much sober time I have, I'm still only responsible for staying sober today. If you'd like to share your take on today's readings with me, There's a couple ways you can do it. You can scroll down to the the show notes and you can find the link to my email. Or the better way is to go to soberreadings.com and click the page Be a Guest. And there's a short form on there that you can fill out and that'll come right to me. And you can use that form to either send me comments or thoughts or request to be a guest on the show. I would love to have you. ⁓ also if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, just click on that support page. And then find the button that says drop a dollar in the basket. So thank you everyone for listening today. 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.