A Program For Living

Scott Hayes: Good morning, and welcome back to Silver Readings, everyone. Today is Wednesday, the fourteenth of October. Thanks for joining me today. 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. Today's reading from Daily Reflections, a program for living. When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. On awakening, let us think about the twenty four hours ahead. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self pity, dishonest or self seeking motives. And that comes from page eighty six of the big book. I lacked serenity. With more to do than seemed possible, I fell further behind and No matter how hard I tried. Worries about things not done yesterday and fear of tomorrow's deadlines denied me the calm I needed to be effective each day. And it goes on to say that before taking steps ten and eleven, try reading passages like the ones above and focus on God's will and not my own problems, to trust that He would manage my day. And what this reading reminds me of is that one of the greatest sources of worry in my life. comes from dwelling on the things I didn't get done yesterday and stressing over the things I need to accomplish tomorrow or next week or next month. Because when I spend too much time living in the past or worrying about the future, I rob myself of the peace and serenity that are available to me today. Trusting in God's will reminds me that I don't have to figure everything out, control every outcome, or carry the weight of tomorrow's responsibilities today. Yesterday is gone and no amount of worrying will change what I did or didn't accomplish. Tomorrow hasn't arrived, and worrying about it won't make me any more prepared. What I can do is ask God for guidance, do the next right thing, and trust that whatever comes my way, I'll be given the strength and wisdom to handle it. That doesn't mean I stop planning, working, or taking responsibility for my life. It simply means I stop trying to control things that are beyond my control. I've learned that much of my anxiety comes from wanting things to happen according to my plans and on my schedule, rather than accepting God's will and his timing. When I surrender that need for control, I make room for peace, calm, and serenity. And perhaps that's one of the greatest gifts of sobriety. Learning that I don't have to have all the answers today. I just have to do my part, trust God with the rest, and remember that one day at a time isn't just a suggestion for staying sober, it's a way of living. Today's reading from 24 Hours a Day. Today's AA Thought for the Day has some very good questions in it. How big a part of my life is AA? Do I only go to AA meetings now and then and sometimes never at all? Do I think of AA only occasionally? Or does AA fill a large part of my life? Is it the foundation of my whole life? Where would I be without AA? Does everything I have and do Depend on my AA foundation. The meditation for the day. Lay upon God your failures and mistakes and shortcomings. This next line is my favorite line in this reading. Do not dwell upon your failures, upon the fact that in the past you have been nearer a beast than an angel. You have a meditator between you and God, your growing faith, which can lift you up from the mire. And point you toward the heavens. And in today's prayer for the day, I'm praying that I may not let the beast in me hold me back from my spiritual destiny. One of the most important lessons I've learned in recovery is that I have to keep Alcoholics Anonymous and my sobriety at the forefront of my daily life, no matter how good things seem to be going. It's easy to become complacent when life is comfortable. When the bills are paid, relationships are good, and everything seems to be falling into place, but I have to remind myself that the disease of alcoholism and addiction doesn't take a day off, and neither can my recovery. I sometimes think of my alcoholism as a beast that lives inside me. And that beast may be quiet today, but it isn't dead or gone. It's waiting patiently for me to become distracted, overconfident, or disconnected from the things that keep me sober. I've learned from my experience that when I stop going to meetings, stop reaching out to other alcoholics, and begin neglecting my spiritual life, I'm slowly unlocking the cage that keeps that beast contained. And the frightening thing is that I might not even realize I'm doing it until it's too late. That's why my faith in God is so important. Through prayer, surrender, willingness to follow His will rather than my own. I find the strength to keep that cage locked. But faith alone isn't enough if I'm unwilling to do with the work. I still need meetings, fellowship, honesty, humility, and service to others. God gives me the strength, but I have to be willing to use the tools He's placed in front of me. I never want to forget what the beast is capable of when I give it the opportunity to take control. My sobriety has to come first, because without it, Everything else I've worked so hard to build can disappear. And just for today, with God's help, I'm going to do everything I can to keep that beast right where it belongs. And for today's final reading, let's go to Asbel Sees It Page thirty two Moral Responsibility. Some strongly object to the AA position that alcoholism is an illness. This concept, they feel, removes moral responsibility from alcoholics. As any AA knows, this is far from the truth. We do not use the concept of sickness to absolve our members from responsibility. On the contrary, we use the fact of fatal illness to clamp the heaviest kind of moral obligation onto the sufferer. The obligation to use AA's 12 steps to get well. The reading goes on to say that when the alcoholic is made aware of his condition, he's under pressure to accept AA's program of moral regeneration. And here's what I take away from that reading. One of the things I appreciate most about AA is that the program doesn't excuse my past behavior or remove my moral responsibility for the things I've done. In fact, it asked me to do just the opposite. Alcoholism may help explain why I behaved the way that I did, but it doesn't excuse the harm I caused to others. The twelve steps challenge me to take an honest look at myself, acknowledge my shortcomings, admit where I was wrong, and become willing to make amends to those I've hurt. That's not always easy because it requires humility and courage and willingness to set aside my pride and ego. I can't blame everything on my drinking, my circumstances, or the people around me. At some point I have to accept that my actions were my responsibility, regardless of what was going on in my life at the time. And making amends isn't simply saying, I'm sorry, and expecting everything to be forgiven. It's about taking meaningful action to repair the damage I've caused wherever possible, provided doing so doesn't cause further harm. It's also about changing my behavior so I don't continue making the same mistakes. I've learned that taking responsibility for my past doesn't mean I have to spend the rest of my life living in guilt and shame. Quite the opposite, actually. By acknowledging my wrongdoings, making amends, and trying to live differently today, I can begin to free myself from the weight of my past. AA doesn't teach me how to escape responsibility for my actions. It teaches me how to accept that responsibility, make things right where I can, and become a better person because of it. Thanks for joining me for today's episode of Sober Readings. I hope you heard something today that 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 your take on today's readings, 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, soberreadings.com, where you can learn more about sober readings and stay connected. And also, if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, just go to the support page on that website and click the button that says drop a dollar in the basket. So thanks 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 says, best day ever.