AA's Main Taproot

10 19Reading: Hey, welcome back to Sober Readings, everyone. Happy Monday. Today is Monday, the 19th of October. Let's get started 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 wisdom to know the difference. And I want to say before I start today, I apologize for my voice, my face is a bit stuffy today. And it most likely has something to do with the cold weather that just moves. So here we go, let's get started with the reading from Daily Reflections for today. AA's main taproot. The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole society has sprung and flowered. And that is from the twelve steps and twelve traditions. Defeated and knowing it, I arrived at the doors of AA, alone and afraid of the unknown. A power outside of myself had picked me up off my bed, guided me to the phone book, then to the bus stop and through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous. Once inside AA, I experienced a sense of being loved and accepted, and I'll stop right there with that reading, because I think that last sentence got across the point of that reading. When I first walked into the rooms of AA, I I was filled with fear of the unknown, unsure of what to expect and whether I belonged or if these people would understand what I had been through. But what I found was something I hadn't expected. A room full of people who welcomed me with open arms, showed me genuine love, and accepted me exactly as I was, without judgment. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was home. Surrounded by people who understood my struggles because they had lived through many of the same things. That sense of belonging helped replace my fear with hope, and gave me the courage to keep coming back, even when I wasn't sure what sobriety would look like. Looking back, I realized that those people didn't just make me feel welcome, they helped me believe that I wasn't alone and that a better life was possible. Today's reading from twenty four hours a day. The AA Thought for the Day. Do I realize that I do not know how much time I have left? It may be later than I think. Am I going to do the things that I know I should do before my time runs out? Do I know that I'm living on borrowed time and that I would not have even this much time left without AA and the grace of God? And the final question in this section Am I going to make what time I have left count for AA? Meditation for the day. We can believe that somehow the cry of the human soul is never unheard by God. It may be that God hears the cry, even if we fail to notice God's response to it. The human cry for help must always evoke a response from some sort of God. It may be that our failure to discern properly keeps us unaware of the response. God is always available for every human being who sincerely calls for help. And in today's prayer for the day, I'm praying that I may trust God to answer my prayers as He sees fit, and that I may be content with whatever form that answer may take. And what that reading reminds me of is one of the most important lessons I've learned in sobriety, and that is that acceptance doesn't mean I have to like something or agree with it. It simply means acknowledging that things are the way that they are. So much of life is beyond my control. And while I can do my best, make good decisions, and put forth an honest effort, I have to remember that the outcome is often not up to me. When I become attached to a particular outcome, I set myself up for frustration, resentment, disappointment, and sometimes even anger, all of which can threaten my emotional and spiritual well-being. I've learned that trying to force things to go my way is often nothing more than my ego and self-will taking. And that's a dangerous place for an alcoholic like me to be. Acceptance allows me to surrender the things I can't control, trust in my higher power, and find peace even when life doesn't turn out the way I had hoped. At the end of the day, protecting my sobriety is far more important than getting my way. And sometimes the greatest act of faith is simply accepting the outcome and moving forward. Let's read from As Bill sees it for today's final reading, and we're gonna go to page thirty five. Suffering Transmuted And I'm gonna skip to the second section here. For Dr. Bob, the insatiable craving for alcohol was evidently a physical phenomenon which bedeviled several of his first years in AA. A time when only days and nights of carrying the message to other alcoholics could cause him to forget about drinking. Although his craving was hard to withstand, it doubtless did account for some part of the intense incentive that went into forming Akron's group number one. Bob's spiritual release did not come easily. It was to be painfully slow. It always entailed the hardest kind of work and the sharpest vigilance. And when I read that, I think of one of the greatest promises of AA, and that is the obsession to drink can be lifted. And that constant craving for alcohol that once controlled my every thought doesn't have to be part of my life forever. When I first came into the rooms, it was hard to imagine a day when I wouldn't think about drinking, let alone a life where alcohol no longer had power over me. But I've learned that if I keep coming back, work the steps, stay connected to the fellowship, and remain willing to do the work, something remarkable can happen. The obsession that once seemed impossible to escape can gradually fade, replaced by a sense of peace, freedom, and hope that I never thought possible. It doesn't happen overnight and it doesn't happen on my schedule, but I have to trust the process and have faith that my higher power is working in my life, even when I can't see it. That's why I remind myself, and especially the newcomer, don't leave before the miracle happens, because the life you're hoping for may be closer than you think. And that is something that we all deserve to experience. And so that's it for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you heard something today that carries you throughout your day. If you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings and share your experience, your strength, your hope, your take on today's readings, there's a link in the show notes below to send me an email. And if you enjoyed today's episode and want to support Sober Readings, Please subscribe to the podcast and give this episode a like because it really does help people find the show. And if something you heard today makes you think of someone, share this episode with them, because you never know who needs to hear these words today. So thank you for spending a few minutes 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. So just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day everyone. And as my friend Larry always says, best day ever.