Latest / Sober Readings / A.A. Is Not A Cure-All
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- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings, today is Thursday the 23rd of April. Let's begin 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. Alright, today's reading from Daily Reflections, April 23. AA is not a cure-all. It would be a product of false pride to claim that AA is a cure-all. even for alcoholism. That's from Asville Seize It, page 285. In my early years of sobriety, I was full of pride, thinking that AA was the only source of treatment for a good and happy life. It certainly was the basic ingredient for my sobriety and even today, with over 12 years in the program, I am very involved in meetings, sponsorship, and service. During the first four years of my recovery, I found it necessary to seek professional help, since my emotional health was extremely poor. There are those folks too who have found sobriety and happiness in other organizations. AA taught me that I had a choice, to go to any length to enhance my sobriety. AA may not be a cure-all for everything, but it is the center of my sober living. Today's reading from 24 Hours. April 23, AA Thought for the Day. Men and women keep coming into AA licked by alcohol, often given up by doctors as hopeless cases, they themselves admitting they're helpless to stop drinking. When I see these men and women get sober and stay sober over a period of months and years, I know that AA works. The change I see in people who come into AA not only convinces me that AA works, but it also convinces me that there must be a power greater than ourselves which helps us to make that change. So ask yourself, am I convinced that a higher power can help me change? The meditation for the day. Cooperation with God is the great necessity for our lives. All else follows naturally. Cooperation with God is the result of our consciousness of His presence. Guidance is bound to come to us as we live more and more with God, as our consciousness becomes more and more attuned to the great consciousness of the universe. We must have many quiet times when we not so much ask to be shown and led by God, as to feel and realize his presence. New spiritual growth comes naturally from cooperation with God. In today's prayer for the day, I pray that God may supply me with strength and show me the direction in which he wants me to grow. I pray that these things may come naturally from my cooperation with him. And for today's final reading, I chose a short story from the grapevine of January 2015. and this story is titled, Mad Scientist. Today is the eve of my one year anniversary in AA. I'll be a year sober in three hours. I'm 25 years old. I'm educated. I'm a college grad. For the most part, my life looks good on paper. It's hard to believe it's only been a year since my first blackout, which I refer to as my last drunk. Compared to most of the people I've encountered in ⁓ AA, I'm an amateur. I don't know what half the bottle names are that you guys talk about. And I don't recognize bar names either. I'm from the generation of getting drunk before you go to the club, or at someone's home or sorority party. We drank clear liquids that you could probably run your car on. Sometimes I feel like my alcoholism doesn't measure up to some of the more gruesome stories I hear. I've never driven drunk. nor have I become violent in a drunken rage. Although ironically, I was angry as hell in early sobriety. I'm still being hailed by old college mates as the life of the party. Yet I had never heard of the word chaser before I got to AA. I couldn't understand why anyone would drink beer or a pina colada. I thought the main objective of drinking was to get smashed. Who the hell were these wine sippers? I was just a normal college student. Today, I know I'm an Elky. I'm grateful I never have to ask myself this question again. My last drunk was a relapse after six months of sobriety. I bought a bottle of vodka, the good stuff too. I was on the phone with my sponsor when I drank the first glass. After I hung up, I abandoned the glass. I went into a tailspin and was unable to stop. I was going to prove to myself whether or not I was an alcoholic. Unfortunately, nothing good ever comes out of mad science. Just ask Dr. Octopus, Mr. Hyde, or Lex Luthor. I had locked myself in the bathroom, and then somehow I ended up unconscious outside of my apartment with the door wide open in a state of, well, not very dressed. I have no idea what happened. No idea at all. I am so grateful because this was my starting point, my jumping off place. And today, I don't have to die. Who knew I would not have to drink? That was written by Sarah F. in Brooklyn, New York. And that story is exactly why we relate and don't compare in meetings. Because I've heard a lot of stories in meetings that I've been to where I just cannot compare my story to theirs at all. Theirs might be worse, mine might be worse, but it really doesn't matter because if I can relate to mainly the emotions and the feelings and the behaviors behind all of it, that's really what counts. And that's really what keeps me coming back to AA meetings daily. Because I don't want to forget my past. In fact, one of the nine-step promises says we will not regret the past, nor wish to shut the door on it. And so, although I can't relate to the author of this story in the way that she drank, or the way that she didn't drink, it was completely different than the way that I drank, I can certainly relate to the behaviors. And like her, At one point I was asking myself if my drinking was a problem. And then I went on drinking for years again after that until I finally found AA. Thank God. So if you can relate to this story and you'd like to share with me, or if you'd like to share your story with me, you could send me an email or you could be a guest reader on my show. That would be great. And there's a couple ways you can contact me. One is to send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. And the second way is to go to my website, soberreadings.com and fill out the form. And by the way, while you're there at the website, you can click that donate button if you'd like to drop a dollar in today's virtual donation basket. So that's it for today's episode. Thanks for listening. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll see 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.