Latest / The Daily Ripples Podcast / September 15 – A Life That Matters

Transcript

September 15 – A Life That Matters · The Daily Ripples Podcast

• 0:03
  Oh, hey, how y'all doing? This is Paris,
• 0:07
  and we're gonna get started with today's— this is the Daily Ripper,
• 0:11
  by the way. Today is September 15th.
• 0:15
  Life That Matters. The stone. God offers
• 0:18
  more than freedom from addiction. He offers a life filled with
• 0:22
  purpose. Ripper 1 practical. Today, I will
• 0:26
  remember that recovery is not simply about what I
• 0:30
  have left behind. It's about how I choose to live now.
• 0:34
  A life of purpose is built through daily acts of love, service,
• 0:37
  and faithfulness. Ripple 2: Spiritual.
• 0:41
  As I follow Christ's example of serving others,
• 0:45
  the Holy Spirit transforms my recovery into a life of purpose.
• 0:49
  The Father continues to reveal who I am,
• 0:52
  Not by my past failures, but by the grace that
• 0:56
  is shaping my future. And we'll do the prayer later.
• 1:02
  Yeah. And what came to mind was, I take a step back to
• 1:06
  the doctor's opinion part. I love the doctor's opinion because
• 1:11
  it was talking about God offers more than freedom
• 1:14
  from addiction. He offers a life filled with purpose.
• 1:19
  And I like it on SSVI,
• 1:23
  it says, because the doctors had to tell us that they
• 1:29
  didn't know anything, they couldn't do anything to fix our
• 1:33
  problem. So they said, we doctors have realized for a long time
• 1:37
  that some form of moral psychology was of
• 1:41
  urgent importance to alcoholics. But its application
• 1:45
  presented difficulties beyond our conceptions.
• 1:48
  So that let me know that that's
• 1:52
  the higher power that I needed to get that freedom
• 1:56
  from my alcoholism, addiction, or whatever I had.
• 2:03
  But to be filled with the purpose, what is my purpose
• 2:06
  today? And I know Corey, he talks about what is our purpose
• 2:11
  today? It's to be of maximal service, help others. And that's what I feel.
• 2:16
  I have started going to a different group now some
• 2:20
  days because it's like, man, I need to get more,
• 2:24
  I need to reach out to more of my kind. You know what I mean?
• 2:27
  Because I have so many white guys I'm sponsoring.
• 2:31
  And it's not that I don't see, it's not that I don't
• 2:35
  like it, it's just like, man, I know there are so many more people
• 2:39
  that need, want to be that same Karma Pearl, Karma Solution,
• 2:43
  and have a little same history with it. You know what I mean? So I've
• 2:46
  been going to this other group for a while and I'm chairing this other group
• 2:50
  and I'm like, whoa, you know, this is— see, I asked for these things though.
• 2:54
  I started with a prayer every day in the morning time. God,
• 2:57
  what can I do to help the sick and suffering? Then he's
• 3:01
  given me these opportunities and chances to reach out to different
• 3:05
  people that connect. That's why I got to that. Well, and I like that you
• 3:08
  brought that up a little bit as well, because there's so many rooms, especially around
• 3:12
  here where we all live. There are rooms that
• 3:15
  seem to be fairly segregated. They'll be predominantly one race
• 3:19
  or another kind of thing. And not to get into too much
• 3:23
  of that huge outside issue on the show or anything, but I know that
• 3:27
  it's got to be at times a barrier to really connecting with other people.
• 3:30
  And it makes it— it's just one extra thing that you have to consider.
• 3:35
  About being able to trust that somebody truly who wants to
• 3:39
  work with you truly has your best interests at heart.
• 3:43
  So I'm sure that that is difficult at times.
• 3:47
  It says at the end of The Practical Ripple that a life of
• 3:50
  purpose is built through daily acts of love, service, and faithfulness.
• 3:54
  And that daily is really important for me because
• 3:59
  if I get too far outside of what do
• 4:03
  I need to do for today, what does God want me to do for today,
• 4:05
  then I can get lost in the weeds. I can get that brainstorm
• 4:11
  going, to use the old type definition of that word,
• 4:14
  which Corey can tell us what that means here in a minute.
• 4:18
  But it tells us in the book that the brainstorm is not for us,
• 4:21
  for sure. So we'll come back to that, I know. But when I
• 4:26
  get into my own head and I look too far out into the future,
• 4:30
  I start to have that worry and fear comes back,
• 4:34
  tries to come back to roost. If I'm looking at today and
• 4:38
  worried about what is today's act of love, what is today's act
• 4:41
  of service, what is today's act of faithfulness, then that also
• 4:45
  reaffirms for me that I am living today at least a
• 4:49
  life that does matter. I'm attempting
• 4:52
  to follow my higher power, Jesus's example
• 4:56
  of serving other people. And I
• 5:00
  don't know, it really stood out to me this time when we were talking about
• 5:04
  it, about that it's the daily piece of it. What am I doing today
• 5:09
  to stay on track? Anyway, Corey, what's a brainstorm?
• 5:14
  Brainstorm's a temporary fit of insanity.
• 5:17
  Well, when I get into my own head, who knows that I don't have a
• 5:20
  temporary fit of insanity? But I used to think brainstorm
• 5:24
  was that. Me just in my head. And like when I found— because
• 5:28
  man, like you get those temporary fits of insanity, man. Like how you— like,
• 5:33
  yeah, because like that's one thing, like get in my head a little bit,
• 5:36
  but it's another thing, right? Um, it's actually a transient.
• 5:40
  Oh, but, uh, the same means the same thing. But, uh,
• 5:45
  I think, you know, man, it's so much different because when I'm in that,
• 5:47
  you know, it's so much harder to get out of that. That those
• 5:52
  fits of insanity. But we go back to this purpose thing and,
• 5:57
  you know, I do think it's cool, man, because I'll tell you how Spunky
• 6:01
  was. He got out of treatment, month out, he goes— I go, hey, man,
• 6:05
  like, because he's like telling people in meetings, he's like, yeah, man,
• 6:08
  I'm fresh out of treatment. But I was like, shut up about
• 6:13
  that, Paris. Anyways, I thought he was going to open a sponsor
• 6:17
  right out of treatment. Anyways. But, you know, because it
• 6:21
  does, you know, in page 17, and I, you know, talked to
• 6:25
  him and other dudes about this.
• 6:28
  But no, man, I got white and black sponsors, sponsors. That doesn't matter.
• 6:32
  Yeah. And I don't care who I mix with and that
• 6:36
  doesn't matter. But the deal is, is people take this too much
• 6:40
  to literal sense on page 17 and I'll talk to you about that.
• 6:43
  Because it says we're people who normally would not knit, right? Right. They weren't
• 6:47
  talking about— because at that time it was a bunch of dudes in suits
• 6:52
  and no women, right? It wasn't women,
• 6:55
  right? Yeah. And it turned out to be— it went into be one, then it
• 6:59
  became fit because— so that's where they got the 15%, you know. But, you know,
• 7:03
  so— but like, I think it's so important because— and I'm not saying
• 7:07
  like whatever skin, wherever ethnicity you're from,
• 7:10
  is a common problem. Yeah, it's not, but it's,
• 7:14
  it's a common ground, right? Right. And so in
• 7:17
  the book on the family afterwards, and I was talking to you about this on
• 7:20
  the phone, um, it says,
• 7:24
  it's talking about the family, but I think that I should practice
• 7:28
  this in my own life too. It says all members of the family should meet
• 7:32
  upon common ground of tolerance, understanding,
• 7:35
  and love. This involves a process of deflation. But like,
• 7:39
  common ground is common problem and common— like, so that's what I have to
• 7:44
  have is common problem, common solution, right? That which in itself binds
• 7:47
  us. That's what the book tells me. So, man, like,
• 7:52
  I don't think it's wise for people to put themselves
• 7:56
  in a room they don't feel comfortable just because the book says
• 8:00
  we are people who normally— well, yeah, because everybody's like, yeah,
• 8:04
  Well, you know what, man? I mean, you know, Paris was around,
• 8:07
  though. You know, man, I didn't mix with your average drinkers.
• 8:11
  You know what? We weren't hanging around people that would just hang out at bars.
• 8:14
  Some people. But no, these dudes aren't like that.
• 8:17
  But you know what I mean? So like, I'm not going to put myself around
• 8:21
  a bunch of hot— I mean, I'm more used to people that have been where
• 8:25
  I've been and done what I've done. I can help anybody. I'm able to
• 8:30
  take people through the literature and eat Whoever. But I do
• 8:33
  find it easier to find common ground with somebody. And the way I find
• 8:38
  common ground is a really simple way. What happens when you drink?
• 8:42
  What happens when you drink? Do you want more afterwards?
• 8:46
  And what happens after you quit drinking? Do you start drinking again?
• 8:50
  If so, we have something in common. So that's the baseline of the
• 8:54
  common ground I try to find with people. Because like, man, like,
• 8:57
  if I don't do that, Man, it's going to be hard to find somebody with
• 9:02
  my background and my rap sheet and all those
• 9:05
  different pieces, because then my ego gets involved. Good or less
• 9:09
  than or more than. But so when I find common ground,
• 9:12
  because it's important anyways, but I think the purpose
• 9:15
  thing, the whole purpose, there's only one purpose in
• 9:19
  this. Well, you know, it says we have a real purpose, right?
• 9:23
  It says our real purpose is to fit ourselves, be a maximum service to God
• 9:27
  and the people by us, right? That's our real purpose. Then we have a— our
• 9:32
  primary purpose. Each group has but one primary purpose: to carry its message to the
• 9:36
  all-called Drusille sufferers. Then we have a high mission.
• 9:39
  Now, I don't know if you was reading my thing this morning, but this is
• 9:42
  for my morning thing, so I'm just reading off my morning thing.
• 9:45
  And in the— because in the 12 and 12, it says page— on page 151
• 9:50
  in the Our society has concluded that it has but one
• 9:53
  high message, high mission, to carry the AA message
• 9:58
  to those who don't know there's a way out. And on page 102,
• 10:02
  there's a job. It says, your job now is
• 10:06
  to be at a place where you may be of maximal helpfulness to others.
• 10:10
  And so like you got this purpose, high mission, you know, that's it.
• 10:13
  Well, and they go from individual responsibility to group
• 10:18
  responsibility. I don't, I don't look at the traditions as an it group.
• 10:23
  Well, I was saying, you, when you said, you said our,
• 10:26
  because even in what you read, it was an individualized basis
• 10:30
  when you talked about primary purpose, right? And, or, or vice
• 10:35
  versa. And then, uh, a group, you know, I forget the
• 10:39
  first one that you started on. Well, I started on the real, real purpose.
• 10:41
  The real purpose was one that was applied to an individual, right? And then primary
• 10:46
  purpose at that point was applied to the society and everyone
• 10:49
  within the society, of course. But it's kind of like,
• 10:53
  I have to have a personal relationship with
• 10:58
  Jesus, but then I also have a communal relationship with all God's kids,
• 11:02
  you know. And so it's, it's my point being that we,
• 11:06
  we have to feel our individual purpose to be a part of
• 11:09
  what the larger group is trying to accomplish. Yeah, you know, well,
• 11:13
  if I'm going to be a part of Selker, You know, the 12
• 11:17
  and 12 pound, I'll lose to this as well. And I like how it does
• 11:21
  because like I'll start getting a little out of sorts.
• 11:24
  But no, because it's, it's important because I, if I start, for me,
• 11:28
  I'm not good at multitasking on that level because
• 11:32
  then I'll start, man, I'll start helping people that walk
• 11:36
  too much, that rob banks, that talk too much on the
• 11:40
  phone. So it says on page 150,
• 11:42
  shoemaker, stick to thy last. Better do one
• 11:46
  thing supremely well than many badly.
• 11:50
  So like, you know what I mean? So if I— when I stick to one
• 11:53
  thing and like, so you got purpose, high mission, and all
• 11:57
  that stuff. The only thing that— there's not like a secondary thing,
• 12:01
  but the only thing I found, which is on page 180
• 12:05
  or page 84, is our next function,
• 12:08
  even to grow in understanding and effectiveness. So if I
• 12:12
  do that and I kept— because it gives me a purpose and you got a
• 12:15
  purpose, you know what I mean? And like, that purpose is being fulfilled.
• 12:19
  And I think like, you know, it's really cool to watch that because like
• 12:23
  to know where you came from. Oh yeah, right. Yeah. Like, but you know,
• 12:27
  but I think about that now where since we're talking about it, you had
• 12:31
  a problem. Right? You had big problem.
• 12:35
  Oh yeah, then you found solution, and now you're able to help people
• 12:38
  with this problem-solution thing, right? But if you
• 12:42
  weren't who you were before that, right, you might not
• 12:46
  be in a position where you can help people else find a solution. And I
• 12:49
  can help them by demonstrating that the program does generate results. Well, even as a—
• 12:54
  no, I'm talking about as a preacher. Well, yeah, that too. You had— it was
• 12:57
  yours, right? Yeah, probably. So you found a solution,
• 13:00
  and that's what your job is today, right? As a preacher. Yeah. To help people
• 13:04
  in so many ways, right? Yeah. From problem, common problems.
• 13:08
  And my ultimate problem going all the way back was my
• 13:12
  ultimate problem that I had growing up was about
• 13:17
  people, Christians acting in ways that
• 13:20
  were not befitting of a Christian or the God that they preached about.
• 13:24
  Right. So hypocrisy kind of was one of the biggest things that drove
• 13:28
  me away. And that's why, you know, and I feel that in my calling today.
• 13:31
  Because whenever I'm preaching, it's always very
• 13:34
  practical and it's always explaining what
• 13:38
  we can from the Bible, but then also ending with practical
• 13:42
  application. Because what I've learned through the rooms of recovery is
• 13:46
  that my thinking changes as my hands and
• 13:50
  feet are working. If I'm
• 13:54
  taking the actions, because when I came into this deal, into recovery, and mine is
• 13:58
  for alcoholism and not just drugs or other forms of addiction,
• 14:03
  But when I came into the program, people were telling
• 14:07
  me certain things to do. They were telling me to go to meetings. They were
• 14:09
  telling me to show up early to talk to people and stay late to talk
• 14:13
  to people and to make coffee and service, all those things. I didn't always
• 14:16
  understand exactly what all those things were doing in me at the time,
• 14:20
  but I just learned that over time by
• 14:24
  just being willing to take the action. And as I took the actions, my mind
• 14:28
  caught up. And so I kind of take that same mentality of when I'm preaching,
• 14:32
  I'm trying to suggest here are the actions that we can take
• 14:35
  to faithfully respond to this text so that it's just a way
• 14:39
  to assist, you know, the Holy Spirit and the renewal of our minds.
• 14:43
  So I like that. What else you got for us today, Paris? Any final
• 14:48
  thoughts? I enjoyed listening, you know what I mean?
• 14:52
  You know, on this spiritual part, it says a body pertains to a being who
• 14:55
  I am. Not by my past failures,
• 14:58
  but by the grace that is shaping my future. You know, I looked
• 15:02
  at the Philippians 4:13 verse, right? It said, I can
• 15:06
  do all things through Christ who strengthens. You know,
• 15:09
  man, it just hit me. That hit me because,
• 15:12
  you know, what I get from the room— I love the rooms of recovery
• 15:15
  though, because, you know, it says it in the book of Alcoholics
• 15:19
  Anonymous. It said, man, life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover,
• 15:23
  to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see fellowship grow
• 15:28
  up about you, to have a host of friends. And this is the experience you
• 15:32
  must not miss. And that's what we get. That's what I get today
• 15:36
  about doing this work. And it's really working.
• 15:40
  I see results with y'all too.
• 15:44
  And not to give you any more flowers, but I see y'all doing
• 15:47
  this thing, man. I'm proud. Well, if we are painstaking about
• 15:51
  this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are even halfway
• 15:56
  through, sir. We will. On that note, why don't you close us out with our
• 15:59
  prayer for today? Yes, the prayer. Father God, thank you
• 16:03
  for giving me a life with purpose. Through the Holy
• 16:06
  Spirit, help me live each day in faithful service.
• 16:10
  Shape me through the example of Jesus. Amen.