Latest / Sober Readings / Progressive Gratitude
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Monday, the 25th of May. Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Let's begin today's episode with the Serenity. 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, May 25. Progressive Gratitude. Gratitude should go forward rather than backward. And that's a line from Asbill sees it page twenty-nine. I am very grateful that my higher power has given me a second chance to live a worthwhile life. Through Alcoholics Anonymous, I have been restored to sanity. The promises are being fulfilled in my life. I am grateful to be free from the slavery of alcohol. I am grateful for peace of mind and the opportunity to grow. But my gratitude should go forward rather than backward. I cannot stay sober on yesterday's meetings or past 12-step call. I need to put my gratitude into action today. Our co-founder said our gratitude can best be shown by carrying the message to others. Without action, my gratitude is just a pleasant emotion. I need to put it into action by working step 12, by carrying the message. And by practicing the principles in all my affairs. I am grateful for the chance to carry the message today. Today's reading from twenty four hours May twenty five AA Thought for the Day. In twelfth step work, the third thing is conviction. The prospect must be convinced that he honestly wants to stop drinking. He must see and admit that his life is unmanageable. He must face the fact that he must do something about his drinking. He must be absolutely honest with himself and face himself as he really is. He must be convinced that he must give up drinking, and he must see that his whole life depends on this conviction. So ask yourself, do I care enough about another alcoholic to help him reach this conviction? The meditation for the day. There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will help you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark hard ground. There is no certainty that when it has forced its way up to the surface that sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish with God's help. The Prayer for the Day. I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray that I may always rely on the power of God to help me. And for today's final reading, we're gonna go to As Bill sees it. Today we're reading from page two eight seven Aspects of Spirituality. Among AAs, there is still a vast amount of mix up respecting what is material and what is spiritual. I prefer to believe that it is all a matter of motive. If we use our worldly possessions too selfishly, then we are materialists, but if we share these possessions in helpfulness to others, then the material aids the spiritual. And that's from a letter written in nineteen fifty eight. The idea keeps persisting that the instincts are primarily bad and are the roadblocks before which all spirituality falters. I believe that the difference between good and evil is not the difference between spiritual and instinctual man, it is the difference between proper and improper use of the instinctual. Recognition and right channeling of the instinctual are the essence of achieving wholeness. And that is from a separate letter written in 1954. And that's it for today's readings. Before I close out, I'd just like to comment on one of the lines from today's daily reflections. The line is: I cannot stay sober on yesterday's meetings or past 12-step calls. I need to put my gratitude into action today. And I love that line because this is something I think about on a daily basis with this program. The AA program is a program of action. Step four and steps eight through twelve all require action on my part. Otherwise, I'm just what they call two-stepping, that is, doing steps one and twelve. For me, work in the steps isn't a one and done. Prayer and meditation isn't a one and done. I need to practice these principles in all my affairs, not just for today, but on a daily basis. But this isn't a prison sentence either. It has in the past and it continues today. To help me live a better life, one free from the bondage of self and the slavery of alcohol. And so I hope you enjoy today's readings. That's gonna do it for today's show. If you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's reading, just go to my website, sobereadings.com, and click the donate button. Also, if you'd like to be a guest reader on the show, I'd love to have you. Just send me an email at sobereadings with Scott at gmail.com. Again, thank you so much for listening. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll see 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.