Latest / Sober Readings / New Soil...New Roots
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: you Good morning and welcome to Sober Readings for Wednesday, April 22nd. Let's begin 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 the wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections. New soil, new roots. Moments of perception can build into a lifetime of spiritual serenity, as I have excellent reason to know. Roots of reality, supplanting the neurotic underbrush, will hold fast despite the high winds of forces which would destroy us, or which we would use to destroy ourselves. That's from As Bill Sees It, page 173. I came to AA Green, a seedling quivering with exposed taproots. It was for survival, but it was the beginning. I stretched, developed, twisted, but with the help of others, my spirit eventually burst up from the roots. I was free. I acted, withered, went inside, prayed, acted again, understood anew, as one moment of perception struck. Up from my roots, spirit arms lengthened into strong green shoots, high-springing servants stepping skyward. Here on earth, God unconditionally continues the legacy of higher love. My AA life put me on a different footing. My roots grasped a new soil. And that reading is from Alcoholics Anonymous, page 12. Today's reading from 24 Hours, April 22, AA Thought for the Day. People believe in AA when they see it work. An actual demonstration is what convinces them. What they read in books, what they hear people say, doesn't always convince them. But when they see a real honest-to-goodness change take place in a person, a change from a drunkard to a sober, useful citizen, that's something they can believe because they can see it. There's really only one thing that proves to me that AA works. So ask yourself, Have I seen the change in people who come into AA? The Meditation for the Day. Divine control and unquestioning obedience to God are the only conditions necessary for a spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a belief that God is the divine principle in the universe and that he is the intelligence and the love that controls the universe. Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way you believe God wants you to constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation, and being willing to do the right thing at all times. Today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may always be under divine control and always practice unquestioning obedience to God. I pray that I may be always ready to serve. And for today's final reading, we're going to, as Bill sees it, today we're reading from page 276. A higher power for atheists. I have had many experiences with atheists, mostly good. Everybody in AA has the right to his own opinion. It is much better to maintain an open and tolerant society than it is to suppress any small disturbances their opinions might occasion. Actually, I don't know of anybody who went off and died of alcoholism because of some atheist's opinions on the cosmos. But I do always entreat these folks to look to a higher power, namely their own group. When they come in, most of their AA group is sober and they are drunk. Therefore, their group is a higher power. That's a good enough start, and most of them do progress from there. I know how they feel because I was once that way myself." And that comes from a letter written in 1962. And I don't have much to say on today's readings other than... In today's daily reflections, I can understand the analogy of the seedling sprouting up from the soil, but the way this was written was a bit confusing to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts in your comments on how that was written and whether or not you understood it. And the other thing was from As Bill Sees It, a higher power for atheists when they talk about making the group your higher power. I could understand that because when I first came into AA, I definitely did not. understand the concept of a higher power. I mean, I've always understood the concept of God, but this higher power thing was new to me. So when it was explained to me by my sponsor to make the group my higher power because they had something that I wanted, they were a power greater than me because I could not stop drinking and the group had already achieved that. for a very short time, when I first got sober, my group did become my higher power. So I'd love to hear your thoughts and your comments on today's readings. You can send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. And you can also go to my website soberreadings.com and submit the short form that's on there. And while you're there at the website, if you would like to drop a dollar in the basket for today's readings, just click the donate button. So thank you so much for listening. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll see you in the next episode. And 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.