Latest / Sober Readings / A Natural Faith
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Silver Readings. Today is Saturday, the 4th of July. Happy Independence Day, America. Let's begin today with the Serenity Party. 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 and Natural Faith. Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a power greater than ourselves and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives are facts as old as man himself. That's on page fifty five of the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I have seen the workings of the unseen God in AA rooms around the country. Miracles of recovery are everywhere in evidence. I now believe that God is in these rooms and in my heart. Today, faith is as natural to me, a former agnostic, as breathing, eating, and sleeping. The twelve steps have helped to change my life in many ways, but none is more effective than the acquisition of a higher power. Today's reading from twenty four hours, july fourth, AA Thought for the Day. In Alcoholics Anonymous, there is no thought of individual profit, no greed or gain, no membership fees, no dues, only voluntary contributions of our money and ourselves. All that we hope for is sobriety and regeneration, so that we can live normal, respectable lives, and can be recognized by others as men and women willing to do unto others as we would be done by. These things we accomplish by the help of each other. By following the twelve steps and by the grace of God. Am I willing to work for AA without material gain to myself? Today's meditation for this. What is sometimes called a conversion by religion is often only the discovery of God as a friend in need. What is sometimes called religion is often only the experiencing of the help and strength of God's power in our lives. What is sometimes called holiness is often only the invitation of God to be our friend. As God becomes your friend, you become a friend to others. We experience true human friendship. And from this experience, we can imagine what kind of a great friend God can be. We believe Him to be a tireless, selfless, all conquering, miracle working friend. We can reach out to the great friend and figuratively take his hand in ours. Today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may think of God as a great friend in need. I pray that I may go along with him. Today's meditation from Touchstone. Freedom means the right to be different, the right to be oneself. And that's a quote from Ira Eisenstein. Each of us is a unique creature and has special gifts to contribute to the world. We were not free in the past because we were slaves to addictions and codependency. We know that freedom is precious. Compulsions and pressures for conformity stifle our creativity and erode our dignity. As we grow in our relationship to our higher power, we get stronger and more balanced in our unique qualities. Some of us have a talent for empathizing with others, some for writing and art, others for sports and physical activities. There is no recipe that prescribes exactly what kind of men we should be. Because we're free, it is our creative task to s to discover what it means to be honest, masculine, contributing men to Within our particular circumstances. We don't get a list of directions for each day, only guidelines for progress. Through groups and friendships, we develop in our own ways and learn to respect each other's freedom. I am grateful for the freedom to be uniquely and fully myself. And for today's final reading, we'll go to As Bill Sees It, page three zero eight. A Way Out of Depression. During acute depression, avoid trying to set your whole life in order all at once. If you take on assignments so heavy that you are sure to fail in them at the moment, then you're allowing yourself to be tricked by your unconscious. Thus you will continue to make sure of your failure, and when it comes you will have another alibi for still more retreat into depression. In short, the all or nothing attitude is a most destructive one. It is best to begin with whatever the irreducible minimums of activity are, then work for an enlargement of these day by day. Don't be disconcerted by setbacks. Just start over. And that's from a letter written in nineteen sixty. And that's gonna do it for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show, please click the like button and the subscribe button so you don't miss the next episode. And if you'd like to be a guest on Sober Readings, I'd love to have you. Just send me an email at sober readingswithscott at gmail.com. And also if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's reading, just go to soberreadings.com and click the donate button. So again, thank you so much for listening today. 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. Keep coming back. Have a great day. And as my friend Larry says, best day ever.