Latest / Sober Readings / Self-Acceptance
Transcript
- 11 11Reading: Good morning everyone. Welcome back to Sober Readings. My name is Scott. Thank you so much for joining me today. First, I'd like to apologize for the episode the other day, a couple days ago. The audio file was distorted and it sounded terrible. And that happened to be a issue with my Bluetooth on my laptop, which has been fixed, so we are all good now. So 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. Before I get to the readings, today, as we recognize Veterans Day, I'd like to take a moment to honor and thank all the men and women who have served our country, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. As a veteran myself, I know that service, sacrifice, and brotherhood can leave a lasting impact on our lives. And to my fellow veterans who may be struggling with addiction or finding their way in recovery, remember that you are not alone. And it's never too late to find a new purpose and a better way of life. With that said, let's get to today's readings. We'll begin today with Daily Reflections. And it's titled Self-Acceptance. We know that God lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will be well with us. Here and hereafter. And that's a line out of the twelve steps and twelve traditions. I pray for willingness to remember that I am a child of God, a divine soul in human form, and that my most basic and urgent life task is to accept, know, love, and nurture myself. As I accept myself, I am accepting God's will. As I know and love myself, I am knowing and loving God. And I like Last paragraph in this in this reading today, I pray for the willingness to let go of my arrogant self-criticism and to praise God by humbly accepting and caring for myself. And for me, self-acceptance has been an important part of my recovery because for so many years I struggled with who I was and the things I had done. I spent a lot of time beating myself up over past mistakes, wishing I could change things that were already behind me. But sobriety has taught me that accepting myself doesn't mean approving of everything I've done or giving up on becoming a better person. It means recognizing that I'm human, that I'm going to make mistakes, and that those mistakes don't have to define who I am today. I can take responsibility for my past, make amends where I can, and still be proud of the person I'm becoming. I've also learned that I don't have to compare myself to others or live up to anyone else's expectations. God made me who I am, and my responsibility is to make the most of the life I've been given. The more I learn to accept myself with all my strengths and weaknesses, the more peace I find, and the easier it becomes to extend that same acceptance to others. Today's next reading is from twenty-four hours. And I will start off by saying I do not like today's AA thought for the day. I do not agree with it, but I'll get to that after. When I think of all who have gone before me, I realize that I am only one, not very important, person. I don't like that line at all. What happens to me is not so very important after all. And AA has taught me to be more outgoing, to seek friendship by going at least halfway, to have a sincere desire to help. I have more self-respect now that I have less sensitiveness. I have found that the only way to live comfortably with myself is to take a real interest in others. And then also I don't like the question of the day, which is, do I realize that I am not so important after all? And I'll get back to this. After the meditation and the prayer. So the meditation for the day. As you look back over your life, it is not too difficult to believe that what you went through was for a purpose, to prepare you for some valuable work in life. Everything in your life may well have been planned by God to make you of some use in the world. Each person's life is like the pattern of a mosaic. Each thing that happens to you is like one tiny stone in the mosaic. And each tiny stone fits into the perfected pattern of the mosaic of your life, which has been designed by God. And in today's prayer for the day, we're praying that I may not need to see the whole design of my life, that I may trust the designer. Alright, so let's get to why I don't like today's reading in the AA Thought for the Day. One of the things I've come to realize in sobriety is that I am important, that my life has value. And that I have something worthwhile to offer this world. But I've also learned that there's a big difference between recognizing my own worth and thinking I'm more important than anyone else. When I was drinking and using, my ego often got in the way, and I sometimes acted as though the world revolved around me. Today I try to remember that humility doesn't mean thinking less of myself. It means not always putting myself first. I can be proud of my accomplishments, confident in my abilities. And grateful for the progress I've made without needing to feel superior to anyone. God has given me gifts and opportunities, but those gifts are meant to be used to help others, not to build up my ego. I matter just as everyone else matters. And remembering that helps me stay humble, grateful, and grounded in my sobriety. So for today's final reading, we're gonna go to Keep It Simple. It is daily meditations for twelve-step beginnings and Renewal. And it starts off with a quote from Robert Cody. Have the courage to live. Anyone can die. Living means facing all of life. Life is joy and sorrow. We used to be people who wanted the joy without the sorrow. But we can learn from hard times maybe more than we do in easy times. Often getting through hard times helps us grow. When things get tough, maybe we want to turn and run. Then a gentle voice from within us says, I am with you. You have friends who will help. If we listen, we We'll hear our higher power. As this conscious contact grows, our courage grows, and we find the strength to face hard times. And I like the prayer for the day in this book. It says, I pray that I'll never have to face hard times alone again. So here's my take on this last reading. Life is always going to have its difficult moments, and sobriety certainly doesn't mean that I'm going to be spared from hardship or disappointment or pain. But one of the greatest comforts I've found in recovery is knowing that I never have to face those difficult times alone again. I found the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, a group of people who understand my struggles, who have walked through their own dark times, and who are always willing to lend an ear, offer encouragement and simply remind me that I'm not alone. And even when there's nobody physically beside me, I know that my HP is always there. Through prayer, Faith and trust in God's will, I can find strength and peace even when life seems overwhelming. In the past, I tried to handle everything on my own, often turning to alcohol or drugs when things became too much. Today I know that asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, but of strength and humility. I don't have to have all the answers and I don't have to carry every burden by myself. As long as I stay connected to my HP and the fellowship of AA, I know I'll never have to walk through life's challenges alone. And I hope that you all realize that for yourself as well. So that's gonna do it for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you all for listening. I hope something you heard today, maybe something I said today, helps you in your day. And if you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings and share your experience, strength, and hope, you can choose a reading and we can talk about that. Just scroll down, there's a link in the show notes below to send me an email, and my email address happens to be soberreadings with scott at gmail.com. And also in the show notes, if you would like to go to my website, there is a link to it. And at that website, which happens to be soberreadings.com, you can stay connected, you can learn more about the show, you can learn more about me. And also on that website, if you navigate to the support page, there's a button that says drop a dollar in the donation basket. So thank you for spending a few minutes of your day with me. Be good to yourselves and be good to others. And remember, we only have to do this one day at a time. So 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.