Latest / Sober Readings / Daily Monitoring
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning everyone, welcome back to Sober Readings. My name is Scott, I am your host. Today is Wednesday, the 7th of October. Thank you for taking a few minutes to join me for today's readings. Let's get started with the serenity prayer today. 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. So before I get started with the readings today, I just want to announce that I'm going to be changing the format. Of sober readings. Generally in the past, I read an entire page from Daily Reflections, from 24 Hours, from As Bill Sees It, and other AA literature, or or sobriety literature, I should say. Moving forward, I'll just be reading a short section out of each page from each book, and then giving commentary or my take, as I like to call it, on each of the readings. Basically talking about the main point from each day's readings. So let's get started with daily reflections for October 7th. Daily monitoring. And the first paragraph begins by saying: the spiritual axiom referred to in the tenth step, every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us, also tells me that there are no exceptions to it. No matter how unreasonable others may seem, I am responsible for not reacting negatively. So, what this reading reminds me of is when I first heard the line every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. I didn't particularly like it, because sometimes the other person really is wrong, and sometimes I have a legitimate reason to be angry or frustrated. But I've learned that this isn't about blaming myself for everything that happens. It's about looking at what's happening inside of me. When I'm disturbed I can ask myself what expectation isn't being met, what resentment I'm holding on to, or what I'm trying to control that simply isn't mine to control. I'm still going to get angry, disappointed, and hurt. That's part of being human. But sobriety gives me the opportunity to stop, take inventory, take some breaths, and decide what I do next instead of letting those feelings run my life. I can't control other people or everything that happens around me. But I can work on my response. And for me, that's where the freedom is. Today's reading from 24 hours a day, October 7, the AA Thought for the Day. Do I put too much reliance on any one member of the group? That is, do I make a tin god out of someone person? Do I set that person on a pedestal? And then the question for that section is can I afford to be tipped over by the failure of my ideal? And then in the prayer for the day, it says, I pray that I may learn. To lean on God's strength. And for me, this is an issue that I can relate to. One of the dangers in recovery is putting another person in AA on a pedestal and starting to believe that they have all the answers. I've met people whose sobriety, wisdom, and way of living I deeply admire, but they're still human, and humans will eventually disappoint me. If my recovery becomes dependent on one sponsor, one friend, or one person I look up to. What happens when they let me down? They relapse, they leave the program, or they simply aren't there when I need them. People can guide me, support me, and show me what recovery looks like, but they can't be the foundation of my sobriety. That's why I pray that I continue learning to lean on God's strength rather than another person's strength. People may come and go throughout my recovery, but my higher power is something I can carry with me wherever I go. For today's final reading, let's go to As Bill Sees It, and today we're on page twenty-eight. Troublemakers can be teachers. In this first paragraph, they talk about newcomers that come into the AA program, maybe with not the right intentions. Those who slip or those who try to panhandle or scandalize, those with mental twists. And then the second paragraphs talks about some of these have become our most respected and most beloved. But yet others have drifted away from the program, and we've begun to regard some of these, the troublesome ones, as teachers rather than menaces. And because what they teach us is to cultivate patience, tolerance, and humility. The way I relate to this in my own sobriety is I've learned that even the people who frustrate me in AA can be some of my greatest teachers. A newcomer may walk into a meeting without the best intentions, disrupt the group, reject every suggestion, or keep slipping over and over again. And it can be easy for me to become impatient or start judging them. But those are exactly the moments when I get to practice patience, tolerance, compassion, and humility instead of just talking about those things. And I have to remember, but for the grace of God, there go I. I'm not somehow better than the person who can't seem to stay sober today. I'm an alcoholic too. And I know how quickly this disease can bring me right back to a place I thought I'd never see again. Maybe that person is there to teach me something I still need to learn. And sometimes the lesson is simply to remember where I came from, be grateful for where I am today, and extend the same grace to someone else. That was once extended to me. And that's all for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you are enjoying this new format. I hope something you heard today stays with you and helps you throughout your day. If you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings and share your experience, strength, and hope, or just join me for a reading, there's a link in the show notes below to send me an email. You'll also find a link in the show notes to my website where you can learn more about Sober Readings and stay connected. And if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, just go to the support page of the website and click the button that says drop a dollar in the basket. If you enjoyed today's episode and want to support sober readings, please subscribe to the podcast and give this episode a like, cause it really does help. And if something you heard today made you think of someone, share this episode with them because you never know who needs to hear this today. So thanks for spending a few moments 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. And 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.