Latest / Sober Readings / Let Go And Let God
Transcript
- 11 7Reading: Hey good morning, everyone. Welcome back to Sober Readings. My name is Scott. Thanks for joining me today. We're gonna get into Daily Reflections 24 hours a day, and a third reading from Hope for Today, and that's actually an Al-Anon book. All three of the readings today are very interesting, and I hope you enjoy them. Let's get started, like we always do, with the Serenity Prayer. God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can. And wisdom to know the difference. And I think I failed to mention today is Saturday, the 7th of November. So let's get into the readings. Today from Daily Reflections, it's titled, Let Go and Let God. And the first line in this is actually the second half of the eleventh step prayer, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. And that's obviously in the 12 steps and 12 traditions. When I let go and let God, I think more clearly and wisely. Without having to think about it, I quickly let go of things that cause me immediate pain and discomfort. And I'll skip down to the last paragraph. When I receive help from God, as I understand him, I can live my life one day at a time and handle whatever challenges come my way. So let's talk about this phrase let go and let God for a minute. It's one of those simple sayings in AA that carries a powerful message. For me, it means recognizing that I don't have to control everything or have all the answers. So much of my drinking and using was driven by my need to control people and situations and control outcomes. And when things didn't go my way, I got frustrated and angry and resentful. Today I've learned that letting go doesn't mean giving up or doing nothing. It means doing my part, making the best decisions I can, and trusting God with the results. When I stop trying to force my will on everything and allow God's will to guide me, I find something far more valuable than control, and that is peace and serenity. And also one of the beautiful things about that phrase, let go and let God, is that you don't necessarily have to believe in God to benefit from the message. In AA we're encouraged to find a higher power of our understanding, and that doesn't have to be a religious god. It might be the AA fellowship itself or group of drunks. It might be the guidance of people in recovery or good orderly direction. It might be the power of nature, or it could simply be the understanding that there are forces in this world greater than ourselves. The important part of this phrase is learning to let go of our need to control everything. We can accept that we don't always have the answers, that we can't control other people, and that life isn't always going to go according to our plans. Whether we believe in God or not, we can all practice humility, acceptance, and surrender. Letting go doesn't mean we stop caring or stop trying. It means we stop fighting the things we can't change and focus our energy on the things that we can. And that alone can bring a huge amount of peace and serenity into my sobriety. Let's get to the reading from 24 hours. I really enjoyed both the AA thought for the day and the meditation for the day in today's reading. I have lost many of my resentments. I have found that getting even with people doesn't do any good. When we try to get revenge, instead of making us feel better, it leaves us frustrated and cheated. Instead of punishing our enemies, we've only hurt our own peace of mind. It does not pay to nurse a grudge. It hurts us more than anyone else. Hate causes frustration, inner conflict, and neurosis. If we give out hate, we will become hateful. If we are resentful, we will be resented. If we do not like people, we will not be liked by people. Revengefulness is a powerful poison in our systems. So the question, have I lost my resentments? The meditation for the day. It is not so much you as the grace of God that is in you that helps those around you. If you would help even those you dislike, you have to see that there is nothing in you to block the way, to keep God's grace from using you. Your own pride and selfishness are the greatest blocks. Keep those out of the way, and God's grace will flow through you into the lives of others. And in today's prayer for the day, I'm praying that all who come in contact with me feel better for it. And resentments and anger are a popular topic in AA meetings. Holding on to resentments and trying to get revenge against someone who has wronged me does absolutely nothing to improve my life. In fact, it only hurts me. When I allow anger and resentment to take up space in my mind, I'm giving that person or situation control over my peace and serenity. And when I start thinking about getting even, I'm no longer focused on my own recovery or becoming a better person. I'm focused on someone else's behavior, something I have absolutely no control over. I've learned that revenge doesn't bring satisfaction or peace of mind. It only feeds the anger and resentment that can eventually threaten my sobriety. Today I try to remember that forgiveness doesn't mean I approve of what someone else did, and letting go doesn't mean they were right. It simply means I'm no longer willing to sacrifice my own happiness and serenity over something I can't change. My sobriety is far too valuable to allow someone else's actions to take it away from me. And for today's final reading, I'm gonna read from Hope for Today. It is an Al Anon. I had a habit of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. After discussing this matter with a friend, I was given an exercise to practice. When someone says something to me and I have a strong reaction, wanting to cry, wanting to rage, or thinking I am inferior, I stop and visualize two doors. One is marked same old, same old, or my will. The other is marked New and different or God's will. On seeing these two doors, I imagine opening mine and viewing what I would normally say or do in this situation. Then I close my door and open God's. By the time I've done all this, I've given myself several moments between the initial comment and my impulsive reaction. And it goes on in this reading to use the word think, or you can replace that with the word pause, and choose a healthier response and And practice self-restraint. And ironically, most times what's behind God's door is absolutely nothing. And I love this last sentence in here. It's a question: could this possibly mean that other people's behavior belongs to them and I don't have to make it mine by reacting to it? Such a powerful concept in that reading. I spent far too many years allowing other people's words, actions, and reactions to determine how I felt and how I behaved. If someone got angry with me, I got angry right back. If someone didn't respond the way I thought they should, I became frustrated or resentful. But sobriety has taught me that I'm not responsible for other people's reactions or their behaviors or even their emotions. I can treat someone with kindness, honesty, and respect, but I can't control how they choose to respond. The only things I truly have control over are my own actions and my own attitudes. And my own responses. That doesn't mean my words and actions can't affect others, and I'm certainly responsible for making things right when I've caused harm. But I'm not responsible for managing someone else's feelings or making them behave the way I think they should. I can choose patience instead of anger, understanding instead of judgment, and kindness instead of resentment. When I stop trying to control everyone around me and focus instead on my own behavior, I feel a sense of freedom. I don't have to react to every little thing that bothers me, and I certainly don't have to let someone else's bad day become my bad day. My peace of mind and serenity are far too valuable, and protecting them is an important part of protecting my sobriety. And so that's gonna do it for today's episode of Sober Readings. I hope you enjoyed those readings. I hope maybe you heard something in the readings or something that I said that can help you along your way today. Hey, if you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings, I'd love to have you. You can share your experience, strength, and hope. You can choose a reading that we can talk about. just scroll down to the show notes and find the link to my email. Also, to get a hold of me, you can go to my website, soberreadings.com, and click on the page that says be a guest. And while you're there at the website, if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, just click on the support page and find the button that says drop a dollar in the basket. So thanks for spending a few minutes of your day with me. Be good to yourselves, be good to others, and remember we only have to do this one day at a time. So 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.