Latest / Sober Readings / Repairing The Damage
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings, everyone. Today is Friday, august fourteenth. Let's begin today's episode 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 Repairing the Damage. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self will And run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol. And that's from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous, page seventy six. Making a list of people I had harmed was not a particularly difficult thing to do. They had showed up in my fourth step inventory, people towards whom I had resentments, real or im imagined, and whom I had hurt by acts of retaliation. For my recovery to be thorough, I believed it was not important for those who had legitimately harmed me to make amends to me. What is important in my relationship with God is that I stand before Him. Knowing I have done what I can to repair the damage I have done. Today's reading from twenty four hours a day, august fourteenth, AA thought for the day. None of us like to think that we are bodily and mentally different from others. Our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove that we could drink like other people. This delusion that we are like other people has to be smashed. It has been definitely proved that no real alcoholic has ever recovered control. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better. There is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. So ask yourself today, am I convinced that I can never drink again normally? The meditation for the day. We should have life and have it more abundantly spiritual, mental, physical, abundant life. Joyous, powerful life. This we can have if we follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift of an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care to stretch out a hand and take it. God's gift, the riches he has to offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away from it. Reject it and will have none of it. Do not let this be true of you. Today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual life. I pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability. And today's meditation from touchstones. What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. That's a quote from Hugh Mulligan. We show self respect in how we choose to spend our time. Do we give tasks the time required for our best efforts? Or do we feel unworthy of quality work? Do we have a right to stop working and just play? Are we worth spending time with just ourselves? Or do we feel meaningful time is only spent with others? Are we worth caring enough about to enjoy bathing, grooming, or getting haircuts? Do we care enough about ourselves to see a dentist or a physician when needed? Choices about how we use our time are basic ethical and creative choices. Beyond self-respect and care, we need to put time into our day for nourishing and enriching our spirits. We do that by reading something thoughtful or meaningful, talking to a friend about the events and feelings of our lives, listening to music, fixing a pleasant meal, exercising. And giving unpaid time and energy to worthwhile causes. I am grateful for the gift of another day, and I will live it creatively and respectfully. And for today's final reading, I'm gonna read out of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. And this is the first passage from Book Two. And the title of Book Two is On the River Gron, Among the Quaddy. And when I say Book Two, I mean it's kind of chapters in this one book. They just call them books, and there's twelve books or chapters, if you will, in this book. I'm gonna read the first section out of book two. When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself, The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own, not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness, nor can I feel angry at my relative or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel angry at someone, to turn your back on him, these are obstructions. And again that was the first passage out of Book Two from Meditation. Written by Marcus Aurelius, and Marcus Aurelius penned these meditations around the year 180 CE. In this first passage, Marcus Aurelius reminds himself that he will meet difficult, selfish, and dishonest people throughout the day, and instead of becoming angry, he should remember that they act from ignorance and that all people are connected. His duty is to remain patient, rational, and cooperative rather than allowing their behavior to disturb his character. This relates to life today because we're likely to encounter people who are impatient, dishonest, judgmental, or just difficult. Marcus Aurelius reminds you that you can't control their behavior, but you can control whether you let it disturb your peace or pull you away from the person you want to be. In sobriety, recovery, school, work, and relationships, the goal is not to make everyone act correctly, it's to respond with patience, self control, and understanding. And it also fits the AA idea of accepting people, places, and things as they are. Other people's actions do not have to become my resentment. I can pause, remember that everyone has their own struggles and limitations, and choose not to react out of anger or ego. Today I can focus on keeping my side of the street clean and protecting my own character. And so I'm interested if anyone listening reads meditations and if so what's your favorite passage in any of the books, any of the chapters? Send me an email at sober readings with Scott at gmail dot com and let me know, or just drop a comment below. Or there's another way. You could go to my website and fill out the short form. My website is soberreadings.com. And by the way, while you're there at the website, if you'd like to drop a dollar in the donation basket, the virtual donation basket, I would I would really appreciate that. ⁓ just click that donate button. So 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 everyone, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.