Latest / Sober Readings / No Maudlin Guilt
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Wednesday, the twenty seventh of May. Let's begin today's episode with the Serenity. 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, may twenty seventh. No Maudlin Guilt Day by day we try to move a little toward God's perfection, so we need not be consumed by Maudlin Guilt. That's from Asbel sees it page fifteen. When I first discovered that there is not a single don't in the twelve steps of AA, I was disturbed because this discovery swung open a giant portal. Only then was I able to realize what AA is for me. AA is not a program of don'ts, but of do's. AA is not martial law, it is freedom. AA is not tears over defects, but sweat over fixing them. AA is not penitence, but It is salvation. AA is not woe to me for my sins, past and present. A is praise God for the progress I am making today. Today's reading from twenty four hours, May twenty seventh, AA Thought for the Day. In 12-step work, the fifth thing is continuance. Continuance means our staying with the prospect after he has started on the new way of living. We must stick with him and not let him down. We must encourage him to go to meetings regularly for fellowship and help. He will learn that keeping sober is a lot easier in the fellowship of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must continue to help him. By going to see him regularly or telephoning him or writing him so that he doesn't get out of touch with AA. Continuance means good sponsorship. So ask yourself, do I care enough about another alcoholic to continue with him as long as necessary? And today's meditation for the day. Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the ground. It must send a root down so that it may be rooted and grounded. While at the same time it sends a shoot up to be the flower that shall gladden the world. Both growths are necessary. Without a strong root, it would soon wither. The higher the growth upward, the deeper must be the rooting. My life cannot flower into success and helpfulness unless it is rooted in a strong faith, or unless it feels deeply secure in the goodness and purpose of the universe. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that my life may be deeply rooted in faith. I pray that I may feel deeply secure. And for today's final reading, I'll read the Daily Meditation from Touchstones for may twenty seventh. At times, almost all of us envy the animals. They suffer and die, but do not seem to make a problem of it. Alan Watts When we sit quietly and open ourselves to contact with our higher power, problems may come to mind. We seek some wisdom beyond ourselves to help us meet the challenges of this day. For many of us, the greatest problem is our thinking rather than the situations we have to deal with. Unlike animals, we complicate what is very simple. The pain we face is never fair, so we need not waste time trying to understand the justice or injustice of it. Our problems may seem large or overwhelming from today's perspective. By tomorrow or next month, most of them will be resolved in some way, and we may not even remember them. Our spiritual path teaches us to do first things first each day and not fret about the outcome. We turn outcomes over to the will of God. Today I will use the simplicity of the animals as my guide. And that was the meditation of the day from Touchstones. I love the line in this reading that says, The greatest problem is our thinking rather than the situations we have to deal with. I have a tendency to overthink and overcomplicate everything. I tend to jump to conclusions and make up stories and outcomes in my head that usually don't come true. They're just in my head. Because many times I think the worst outcome possible is going to happen. And that is fear. And fear can be paralyzing. Or it can cause me to make emotional decisions without thinking it through. So practicing the pause in most situations before Reacting allows me to respond reasonably rather than react irrationally. And so that's it for today's episode of Sober Readings. If you enjoyed the show, please do me a huge favor and hit that like button and share this episode with someone you think might need it. And if you'd like to be a guest reader on Sober Readings, you can do that. Just send me an email at Soberreadings with Scott at gmail.com and we can certainly make that happen. If you'd like to drop a dollar in today's virtual donation basket, you can do that too. Just go to sobereadings.com and click the donate button. So thank you so much for listening today, everyone. 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.