Monday, October 26, 2009

The Rewards

Wow, dAAve must be sick or something... I might actually post before him this morning!

Yesterday I ran my first real Pack Meeting after taking over as Cubmaster. I was nervous, and I was tired from being out late the night before on a gig. The kids were insane and loud (as only Cub Scout boys can be lol) but they all seemed to have a good time, the parents were encouraging (and probably all grateful it wasn't them who was leading the mess lol) and we got through the whole thing. I was wiped out after I got home, I can tell you that! 2 and a half hours with a pack of 1st-6th grade boys will suck the life out of you!

Today, my "job" is to serve God and those around me. My Big Book tells me that I am to "fit myself to be of maximum service to God and to those about me..." Well, for this self centered fellow, that isn't always the simplest of tasks. I have to focus hard to keep my mind on the idea of serving God and others. It's especially challenging/rewarding when I try to "up the ante" and do nice things without seeking reward or credit. Now we're talking "high end" service lol. I can tell you this much... from successful practice of this principle I get peace, joy, relief from my own issues, and clarity on how to deal with my own stuff. I know the Big Book refers to those as "The Promises" or well, we in AA have taken those somewhat out of context and called them "The Promises." I prefer to look at them as "The Rewards..." If I view them as promises, I develop expectations and when I do that, there go my rewards of peace, serenity, proper persprective, good intuition and so forth. But, if I just do the next right thing (clean house, trust God and help others...) the rewards come unlooked for and they are magnificent.

There's so much more to sobriety than not drinking! I pray that every alcoholic who comes through those doors finds "The Rewards!"

3 comments:

dAAve said...

I woke up later than usual.

Cubmaster? You're insane!!

Syd said...

Wow Scott. You are a brave man.

The Turning Point said...

I refer to "much more in sobriety" as living in technicolor. Colored by embracing all the "realities and verities of existence..." in the Sanskrit Proverb 24HAD book.
I too was an assistant scout master and little league coach.
Go for it.

JF