Latest / Sober Readings / A Changed Outlook
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning, happy Monday, everyone. Today is the first of June. Welcome to Sober Readings. Let's begin today's reading 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. Today's reading from Daily Reflections, June 1. A Changed Outlook. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. That's from Alcoholics Anonymous page eighty four. And that is also one of the ninth step promises. When I was drinking, my attitude was totally selfish, totally self-centered. My pleasure and my comfort came first. Now that I am sober, self-seeking has started to slip away. My whole attitude toward life and other people is changing. For me, the first A in our name stands for attitude. My attitude is changed by the second A in our name, which stands for action. By working the steps, attending meetings, and carrying the message, I can be restored to sanity. Action is the magic word. With a positive, helpful attitude and regular AA action, I can stay sober and help others to achieve sobriety. My attitude now is that I am willing to go to any length to stay sober. Today's reading from twenty four hours. June one AA thought for the day. Some things I do not miss since becoming dry. That overall awful feeling physically, including the shakes, a splitting headache, pains in my arms and legs, bleary eyes, fluttering stomach, droopy shoulders, weak knees, a three day beard and a flushed complexion. Also facing my wife at breakfast and looking at my breakfast. Also composing the alibi and sticking to it. Also trying to shave with a hand that won't behave. Also opening up my wallet to find it empty. I don't miss these things, do I? Today's meditation for the day. You were born with a spark of the divine within you. It had been all but smothered by the life you were living. That celestial fire has to be tended and fed so that it will grow. Grow eventually into a real desire to live the right way. By trying to do the will of God, you grow more and more in the new way of life. By thinking of God, praying to Him, and having communion with Him, you gradually grow more like Him. The way of your transformation from the material to the spiritual is the way of divine companionship. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may tend the spark of the divine within me so that it will grow. I pray that I may be gradually transformed from the old life to the new life. And for today's final reading, I'm gonna read The Meditation of the Day from Touchstones. June one. In music, in the sea, in a flower, in a leaf, in an act of kindness, I see what people call God in all these things. Pablo Casalis. The third step refers to God as we understood him. The pathways to meeting our higher power and to our spiritual awakening are all around. Every tree and every leaf on every tree, as it rustles in the wind, expresses God in our lives. When the little bird flies overhead or when it comes to visit the feeder, we are being visited by a spirit. When the sky boils with a storm, when lightning and thunder crash, we are witnesses to a power greater than ourselves, a power that predates human history. The beautiful works of art created by our fellow human travelers on this journey through life are expressions of their courage to reach out and create something. A line of music moves us and we feel the spirit. A child makes a drawing and gives it away. A neighbor helps you start your car. You treat the checkout cashier like a real person. Whatever word we use for God, if we decide to be open and receptive, we find God in the little details of our lives. Spiritual awakening is a wonderful daily occurrence. God, open my senses to take in your presence more fully. And that was the meditation for the day from Touchstones. And as I was choosing the third reading today, I skimmed through this reading and I just had to read this one. Because this reading explains exactly how I see God. It's in everything. It's in every tree, it's in every leaf, it's in every bird, it's in everything that we see around us. And so I just had to read this one. I hope you really enjoyed that one. And I'd also like to comment on today's AA Thought for the Day from Twenty-Four Hours. It starts off by saying some things I do not miss since becoming dry, and then it goes on to list a few things that we deal with in active drinking and using. Of the things I cherish most in my sobriety, freedom may be at the top of the list, not freedom as in I'm not in jail, although that's a bonus too. I'm talking about freedom from the insanity of drugs and alcohol. ⁓ this reading in twenty four hours just touches the surface of that insanity. You know, the awful feelings, the shakes, the alibis, the lies, trying to remember my own lies, spending all my money, justification, rationalization, thinking about the next drink or drug constantly. None of this I have to deal with today. And I owe all of that to the fellowship and to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. So what kind of freedom do you enjoy in sobriety? I'd love to hear your thoughts and your comments. And you can send them to me at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. Just send me that email and I can read them on the air if you'd like. Also, you could go to my website, soberreadings.com, and you can fill out that form, and that will also make its way to me. And while you're there at my website, if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's reading, ⁓ just click the donate button. So thank you very much for that. And so that's gonna do it for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much 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.