Latest / Sober Readings / Opening Up To Change
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. My name is Scott and I am glad you're here with me. Today is Monday, June the 8th. Let's begin 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 the wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections, June 8th, opening up to change. Self searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God's help. We find that bit by bit we can discard the old life, the one that did not work, for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever. That's from As Bill sees it, pages 10 and 8. I have been given a daily reprieve contingent upon my spiritual condition, provided I seek progress, not perfection. To become ready for change, I practice willingness, opening myself to possibilities of change. If I realize there are defects that hinder my usefulness in AA and toward others, I become ready by meditating and receiving direction. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas, and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. That's in the big book page fifty eight. To let go and let God, I need only surrender my old ways to him. I no longer fight nor do I try to control, but simply believe that with God's help, I am changed and affirming this belief makes me ready. I empty myself to be full of awareness, light, and love, and I am ready to face each day with hope. Today's reading from twenty four hours, June eighth, AA Thought for the Day. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. We always get worse, never better. We are never cured. Our alcoholism can only be arrested. No matter how long a man has been sober, if he tries liquor again, he's as bad or worse than he ever was. There is no exception to this rule in the whole history of AA. We can never recapture the good times of the past. They are gone forever. So ask yourself. Will I try to recapture them? The meditation for the day. Your life has been given to you mainly for the purpose of training your soul. This life we live is not so much for the body as for the soul. Men often choose the way of life that best suits the body, not the way that best suits the soul. God wants you to choose what best suits the soul as well as the body. Accept this belief and a wonderful molding of the character is the result. Reject it and God's purpose for your life is frustrated and your spiritual progress is delayed. Your soul is being trained by the good you choose. Thus the purpose of your life is being accomplished. Today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may choose what is good for my soul. I pray that I may realize God's purpose for my life. And for today's final reading, I'm gonna read a short story out of the grapevine from January of twenty twelve. And this one is titled Alcohol Knows No Borders. I first came to the US when I was sixteen years old. My sisters were here for a few years already. When I got here they had a place and a job for me. My older sister said to me, Look, Jose, you are responsible for your acts and no one else. If you want to eat, you will have to cook for yourself. If you want to wear clean clothes, you will have to wash them. And of course, rent and food, you will have to pay that before anything else. After that, you're a free man. I had not seen my sister for a long time. So I was surprised she talked to me that way, but I liked it. I loved the idea of being free, the idea of not having to tell anybody what I'm doing. I drank alcohol in Mexico and things were completely different. Now I was going to be responsible, at least for the next few years. No hangovers, no absences from work, no troubles with the law. At eighteen I got married. That didn't last long. We separated after a year and my drinking got worse. I'm not sure what happened to the next ten years of my life. All I can remember was it led me to hell. I did not notice I was completely locked inside a very dark place, not able to see anything or anybody, with ups and downs that took me from euphoria to trying to kill myself. Sometimes I would be king of the world, and sometimes the worst person on earth. The last year before AA, ⁓ My whole world collapsed and I gave up everything else. I abandoned myself to alcohol for one whole year. Before anything got any worse, I hit bottom. When I got to the recovery house, I knew I was completely defeated by alcohol. When I was introduced to AA, I was scared, but very curious. I knew it was my last chance and I took it. I moved to San Jose, California to a rehab center. My plan was to stay three months. But for some reason, I'm still here and I love it. I'm clean, sober, and happy. I have principles in my life today, and the words home group, service, sponsor, sponsee, general service, agenda, topics, and delegate. I can go on and on. But the basic idea is still the same. Keep it simple, one day at a time. And that was written by Jose in Sunnydale, California. And that's it for today's episode of Sober Readings. I hope you enjoyed the show. If you did, please do me a huge favor and hit that like button. And if you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings, I'd love to have you. Just send me an email at soberreadings with Scott at gmail.com and we can make that happen. If you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today, just go to soberreadings.com and click that 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, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.