Latest / Sober Readings / Lighting The Dark Past
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is the second of May. 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. From Daily Reflections, Lighting the Dark Past. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have, the key to life and happiness for others. With it, you can avert death and misery for them. That's from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, page 124. No longer is my past an autobiography. It is a reference book to be taken down, opened and shared. Today, as I report for duty, the most wonderful picture comes through. For though this day be dark, as some days must be, the stars will shine even brighter later. My witness that they do shine will be called for in the very near future. All my past will this day be a part of me, because it is the key, not the lock. Today's reading from 24 Hours. May 2, AA Thought for the Day. In AA, we often hear the slogan, Easy does it. Alcoholics always do everything to excess. They drink too much. They worry too much. They have too many resentments. They hurt themselves physically and mentally by too much of everything. So when they come into AA, they have to learn to take it easy. None of us knows how much longer he has to live. It's probable that we wouldn't have lived very long if we had continued to drink the way we used to. By stopping drinking, we have increased our chances of living for a while longer. So ask yourself, have I learned to take it easy? The Meditation for the Day You must be before you can do. To accomplish much, be much. In all cases, the doing must be the expression of the being. It is foolish to think that we can accomplish much in personal relationships without first preparing ourselves by being honest, pure, unselfish and loving. We must choose the good and keep choosing it. before we are ready to be used by God to accomplish anything worthwhile. We will not be given the opportunities until we are ready for them. Quiet times of communion with the higher power are good preparation for creative action. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may constantly prepare myself for better things to come. I pray that I may only have opportunities when I am ready for And today's final reading is from As Bill Sees It. Today we're reading from page 280. Spiritually Fit. Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People have said we must not go where liquor is served. We must not have it in our homes. We must shun friends who drink. We must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes. We must not go into bars. Our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses. We mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all. Our experience shows that this is not necessarily so. We meet these conditions every day. An alcoholic who cannot meet them still has an alcoholic mind. There is something the matter with his spiritual status. His only chance for sobriety would be some place like the Greenland Ice Cap. And even there, an Eskimo might turn up with a bottle of scotch and ruin everything. And that's from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 100 to 101. And before I close today, I'd like to go back to the daily reflections. If you've been to my website, soberreadings.com, and you've scrolled all the way to the bottom, you would see a book that's called, I Love You, Don't Do Anything Stupid. And I wrote that book not because I wanted to ever publish a book, but because it started out as reflection. It started out as journaling and eventually just became my memoir. And I bring that up because in this reading from Daily Reflections today, It talks about, no longer is my past an autobiography, it's a reference book to be taken down, opened, and shared. And I bring this up because I haven't read my own book since I wrote it, which was probably four to five years ago. And a friend of mine recently read the book and he keeps telling me, or asking me, if I've read my own book. And I said, well, I wrote the book. And he said, well, have you read it then? Have you gone back and read it again? And I haven't. And I think the reason that he's asking me if I've gone back and read it again is because it's good to not forget my past, nor do I wish to shut the door on it like we do say in the big book. And I go to meetings every day and I hear other people share and I hear part of my story in their shares. But I think it's a good idea to go back and read my own book, to read my own history, because it took a lot ⁓ of thought and reflection to write all that stuff in that book and it is my past. Like it says in today's daily reflections, for though this day be dark as some days must be, the stars will shine even brighter later. And that is true. And what my book reminds me of is that, my past was dark. There were dark spots. But I always got through it. And especially when I came into the program of AA, I definitely got through it. And living these 12 steps in my daily life, practicing these principles in all my affairs, has turned my life around. And I don't have to go back to living the way that I did. I don't have to go back to doing the things that I always did and getting the results that I always got. And so this might seem like a shameless plug for my book, which it possibly could be. If you want to the book, by the way, you can go to Amazon or you can go to my website, soberreadings.com, scroll all the way down to the bottom and there it is. Just click the link. ⁓ And so in closing, I'd just like to read this last line from Daily Reflections again, because it is very important. And so with that, let's close today's episode of Sober Readings. If you've enjoyed the show, please do me a huge favor and hit the like button and share this episode, comment, and also follow this show so you don't miss the next episode. If you'd like to be a guest reader on the show... Just send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com and I can make that happen for you. And also if you'd like to drop a dollar in today's virtual donation basket, just go to my website soberreadings.com and click the donate button. So again, thank you so much for listening 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.