Latest / Sober Readings / Freedom From "King Alcohol"
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Thursday, the 9th of April. Today I'm going to begin a new change in Sober Readings at the request of one of my listeners. I'm going to begin with reading the Serenity Prayer at the beginning of each episode. So let's begin today's episode with the Serenity Prayer. God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And before I get started on the readings, I just want to point out that, yes, I did say the Wii version of the Serenity Prayer, as we like to call it in the meetings. And for me, the reason for that is I did not get sober alone. It took the fellowship and the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. So I didn't do it alone. So I personally like to use the Wii version as we call it. All right, let's get started on today's readings. Today's reading from Daily Reflections for April 9th. Freedom from King Alkal. Let us not suppose even for an instant that we are not under constraint. Our former tyrant, King Alcohol, always stands ready again to clutch us to him. Therefore, freedom from alcohol is the great must that has to be achieved, else we go mad or die. And that's from As Bill Sees It page 134. When drinking, I lived in spiritual, emotional, and sometimes physical confinement. I had constructed my prison with bars of self-will and self-indulgence, from which I could not escape. Occasional dry spells that seemed to promise freedom would turn out to be little more than hopes of a reprieve. True escape required a willingness to follow whatever right actions were needed to turn the lock. With that willingness in action, both the lock and the bars themselves opened for me. Continued willingness in action keep me free in a kind of extended daily probation. That need never ends. Today's reading from 24 Hours, April 9, AA Thought for the Day. Third, an alcoholic recovers his proper relationships with other people. He thinks less about himself and more about others. He tries to help other alcoholics. He makes new friends so that he's no longer lonely. He tries to live a life of service instead of selfishness. All his relationships with other people are improved. He solves his personality problem by recovering his personal integrity, his faith in a higher power, and his way of fellowship and service to others. So ask yourself today, is my drink problem solved as long as my personality problem is solved? Today's meditation for the day. All that depresses you, all that you fear, is really powerless to harm you. These things are but phantoms. So arise from Earth's bonds from depression, distrust, fear, and all that hinders your new life. Arise to beauty, joy, peace, and work inspired by love. Rise from death to life. You do not even need to fear death. All past sins are forgiven if you live in love and work with God. Let nothing hinder your new life. Seek to know more and more of that new way of living. In today's prayer for the day, I pray that I may let God live in me as I work for Him. I pray that I may go out into the sunlight and work with God. And for today's final reading, I chose a passage from Wild Ride to Sobriety by Ian Fee. And if you'll remember, I just interviewed Ian probably not more than a couple weeks ago on the show. So this is from chapter 61, it's page 107. Again, it's from Wild Ride to Sobriety by Ian Fee. Adjusting to your authentic sober self and navigating life's challenges without alcohol as a crutch can take some getting used to. Some people struggle with losing their social lubricant or excuse for inappropriate behavior. Others take to sobriety like a duck to water from the start. The differentiating factor often comes down to how much you still romanticize and crave the perceived enjoyment of drinking or get caught up in the dreaded fear of missing out. It's easy to wallow in self-pity thinking, why can't I have that beautiful glass of wine? Everyone else can indulge, why not me? But that's when you must get honest with yourself through a clear-eyed, cost-benefit analysis of alcohol's role in your life. If you're being real, the gifts of not partaking should quickly outweigh whatever fleeting fun you associated with having a drink in your hand. The positives you can genuinely attribute to alcohol will likely be very few. So again, that's from chapter 61 of the book Wild Ride to Sobriety by Ian Fee, and it is a good read, I highly recommend it. So that's it for today's episode of Sober Readings. If you enjoyed the show, please do me a huge favor and hit that like button, and share this episode with someone that you think might need it. Drop a comment and let me know what you think. And also, don't forget to follow the show if you're not already so you don't miss the next episode. And if you'd like to be a part of Sober Readings as a guest reader, just go to my website soberreadings.com and you can fill out that short form or you can send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. I'd love to have you on the show. If you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket while you're at soberreadings.com, just click that donate button. So again, thanks everyone for listening. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll see 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.