Latest / Sober Readings / Readiness To Serve Others
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning and welcome to Sober Readings. Today is the last day of May 2026, the 31st of May, it's Sunday. So let's begin today 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. From Daily Reflections for May 31, readiness to serve others. Our society has concluded that it has but one high mission to carry the AA message to those who don't know there's a way out. That's from the twelve steps and twelve traditions page one hundred five one. The quote light to freedom shines bright on my fellow alcoholics as each one of us challenges the other to grow. The quote steps to self improvement have small beginnings, but each step builds the ladder out of the pit of desire to new hope. Honesty becomes my tool to unfurl the chains which bound me. A sponsor who is a caring listener can help me to truly hear the message guiding me to freedom. I ask God for the courage to live in such a way that the fellowship may be a testimony to his favor. This mission frees me to share my gifts of wellness through a spirit of readiness to serve others. Today's reading from twenty four hours. May thirty one AA thought for the day. I shall not wait to be drafted for service to my fellow men. I shall volunteer. I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give to AA my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all myself. So ask yourself, do I also accept this as my AA credo? Today's meditation for the day. Prayer is of many kinds, but of whatever kind, prayer is the linking up of the soul and mind to God. So that if prayer is only a glance of faith, a look or a word of love, or just a feeling of confidence in the goodness and purpose in the universe, still the result of that prayer is added strength to meet all temptations and to overcome them. Even if no supplication is expressed, All the supply of strength that is necessary is secured, because the soul, being linked and united to God, receives from him all spiritual help needed. The soul, when in its human body, still needs the things belonging to its heavenly habitations. Prayer for the day. I pray that I may be taught how to pray. I pray that I may be linked through prayer to the mind and will of God. And for today's final reading, I'm gonna read out of Touchstones, a book of daily meditations. May 31. Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self fulfillment. Being compassionate is similar to what we call support in this program. We get outside our own self-centered egos and care about someone beyond ourselves. In the process, we are helped and changed, perhaps more than the person we are helping. As we mature, we learn that not all help is beneficial. It is more helpful to confront a friend in his delusion than to accept his misguided actions. Such tough honesty supports his strength and his ability to work the steps. Sometimes it is hard to be a friend to a man in great pain. We might prefer to pull away rather than be with him as he suffers, but we can be more compassionate if we accept our powerlessness to cure his pain. Compassion has a reverberating effect in relationships. Not only do we give it and grow from the experience, we also become the receivers of what we send out. Today, I will practice compassion in my relationships. And that was from Touchstones, a book of daily meditations. And so I wanted to read the definition of compassion. I know we hear the word compassion quite a bit, and I think I know what the definition is a lot, but I just wanted to be sure. So sometimes I look up these words, and compassion is the deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the genuine desire to relieve it. And I think that really fits in well with the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, because our primary purpose is to stay sober and help another alcoholic to achieve sobriety. And so this definition is two part. The first is that we can relate to other alcoholics because of our shared suffering. And the second part is a genuine desire to relieve it, which in our primary purpose, the second part is to help another alcoholic to achieve sobriety. And I think that's what our genuine desire is. ⁓ that's our primary purpose to help another alcoholic to achieve sobriety. And in doing so, we also stay sober ourselves. And there's also three components, key components of compassion recognition, emotion, and action. And I think we do all three of those things in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. We recognize each other's pain, you know, through. shared suffering through our meetings, through sharing with each other. Emotion for sure. I've seen a lot of people and including myself get emotional in meetings and action. I mean this is the program of action and taking action in ⁓ work working with other alcoholics, going through the steps, doing service. That's how it works. That's how we all help each other to stay sober. And so I hope you enjoyed those readings today. If you'd like to send your Thoughts and your comments on today's readings, you can send me an email at soberreadingswithsc at gmail.com, or you can go to my website, soberreadings.com, and there's a short form that you can fill out, and that'll also get to me. And while you're there at the website, if you'd like to drop a dollar in today's virtual donation basket, just click that donate button. So thank you so much everyone for listening. 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, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.