Latest / Sober Readings / A Priceless Gift
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning everyone. Welcome to Sober Readings for Tuesday, the 21st of July. Let's begin today's episode 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. From Daily Reflections, a priceless gift. By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety, in other words, to all of us, this newfound peace is a priceless gift. That's on page seventy four of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. I am learning to let go and let God. To have a mind that is open and a heart that is willing to receive God's grace in all my affairs. In this I can experience the peace and freedom that come as a result of surrender. It has been proven that an act of surrender originating in desperation and defeat can grow into an ongoing act of faith, and that faith means freedom and victory. From twenty four hours, july twenty one AA Thought for the Day. If we feel the need to say something to put another member on the right track, we should try to say it with understanding and sympathy, not with a critical attitude. We should keep everything out in the open and above board. The AA program is wonderful, but we must really follow it. We must all pull together or we'll all be sunk. We enjoy the privilege of being associated with AA and we are entitled to all its benefits. But gossip and criticism are not tolerance, and tolerance is an AA principle that is absolutely necessary to group unity. Am I truly tolerant to all my group's members? The meditation for the day. Faith can move mountains. That expression means that faith can change any situation in the field of personal relationships. If you trust Him, God shows you the way to move mountains. If you are humble enough to know that you can do little by yourself to change a situation, if you have enough faith to ask God to give you the power you need, and if you are grateful enough for the grace he gives you, You can move mountains. Situations will be changed for the better by your presence. Today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may have enough faith to make me really effective. I pray that I may learn to depend less on myself and more on God. Today's daily meditation from Touchstone. Some people regard themselves as perfect, but only because they demand little of themselves. That's a quote from Hermann Hess. Many of us men in this program struggle with perfectionism. This is a central spiritual issue. Sometimes we feel ashamed or frightened by our imperfections, or we strive so hard to overcome them that we successfully close our lives down to a very narrow, controllable scale. Spiritual awakening means we have zest for life and accept our imperfections. We know today we'll be shaky and insecure in some ways. We probably will make some mistakes or offenses. Our solution is not our old behavior of attempting to control whatever happens. It is to join life with a spiritual feeling. We let go of ourselves and what happens. We are part of a larger whole. We are not in control of the process of life, and whatever we do is part of an ongoing dialogue. So we will have another chance to respond, even to our own mistakes. Today I pray for liberation from my perfectionism so I can more fully engage in life's adventure. For today's final reading, we're gonna go to page three one eight of As Bill Sees It. Forgiveness. Through the vital fifth step, we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had thought or done. Often it was while working on this step with our sponsors or spiritual advisors that we first felt truly able to forgive others no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all around forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled step five. That we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it to. That's from the twelve and twelve, pages fifty seven to fifty eight. And that's gonna do it for today. Thanks for joining me for today's readings. I appreciate your listening. If you'd like to be a guest reader on my show, send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. And if you'd like to drop a dollar in today's virtual donation basket, just go to my website, soberreadings.com, and click the donate button. Thank you so much for listening today. Stay sober, keep reading, and I'll catch 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.