Latest / Sober Readings / Freedom From Fear
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning everyone, welcome to Sober Readings. My name is Scott. I am glad you're here with me today. It is Thursday, the seventeenth of September. At times I like to share the analytics of the podcast, and for the last seven days, the most listeners have come from India with thirty-four percent, the US with thirty-three percent, and Austria with thirty percent. So thank you all for listening. That's amazing. Let's get started 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 wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections. Freedom from fear. When, with God's help, we calmly accept our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them too. We found that freedom from fear is was more important than freedom from want. And that's on page one two two of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Material values ruled my life for many years during my active alcoholism. I believed that all my possessions would make me happy, yet I still felt bankrupt after I obtained them. When I first came into AA, I found out about a new way of living As a result of learning to trust others, I began to believe in a power greater than myself. Having faith freed me from the bondage of self. As material gains were replaced by the gifts of the spirit, my life became manageable. I then chose to share my experiences with other alcoholics. Today's reading from twenty four hours, September seventeenth, AA thought for the day. Step one is we admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives have become unmanageable. This step states the membership requirement of AA. We must admit that our lives are disrupted. We must accept the fact that we are helpless before the power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked as far as drinking is concerned, and that we need help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must make, as gracefully as possible, a surrender to the inevitable fact that we must stop drinking. So ask yourself today, is it difficult for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers? The meditation for the day. Show us the way, O Lord, and let us walk in thy paths. There seems to be a right way to live and a wrong way. You can make a practical test. When you live the right way, things seem to work out well for you. When you live the wrong way, things seem to work out badly for you. You seem to take out of life what you put into it. If you disobey the laws of nature, the chances are that you will be unhealthy. If you disobey the spiritual and moral laws, the chances are that you will be unhappy. By following the laws of nature and the spiritual laws of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you can expect to be reasonably healthy and happy. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may try to live the right way. I pray that I may follow the path that leads to a better life. And for today's final reading, let's go to As Bill Sees It, and we are on page 16. Never again. Most people feel more secure on the 24 hour basis than they do in the resolution that they will never drink again. Most of them have broken too many resolutions. It's really a matter of personal choice. Every AA has the privilege of interpreting the program as he likes. Personally, I take the attitude that I intend never to drink again. This is somewhat different from saying, I will never drink again. The latter attitude sometimes gets people in trouble because it is undertaking on a personal basis to do what we alcoholics never could do. It is too much an act of will and leaves too little room for the idea that God will release us from the drink obsession provided we follow the AA program. And that was all written in a letter in nineteen forty nine. And that's it for today's readings. Before I close, let's go back to twenty-four hours a day. There's actually two things I want to talk about. The first thing is the question from 24 hours a day. Is it difficult for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers? For me, the short answer is sometimes. For a long time, it was difficult for me to admit that I was different from normal drinkers. Part of me wanted to believe that if I stayed sober long enough, learned enough about alcoholism. And got my life back together, maybe someday I could drink like everyone else. Maybe I could have just one or two. Enjoy the moment and stop. There was something uncomfortable about accepting that other people could do something that I simply could not do safely. But sobriety has taught me that being different doesn't mean I'm less than anyone else. It simply means I have to be honest about who I am and what happens when I drink. A normal drinker might have a drink and barely think about the next one. For me, the first drink changes the equation. Once alcohol is introduced, I can no longer confidently predict where the night or my life is going to go. I think the danger comes when I start comparing myself to normal drinkers instead of remembering my own experience. I can watch someone have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner and leave half of it on the table and wonder why can't I do that? Or why are they doing that? Why aren't they finishing that? But the better question for me is why would I need to? I already know where trying to drink normally can take me. I don't need to prove that lesson wrong. Today, admitting that I'm different from normal drinkers feels less like admitting defeat and more like accepting reality. There are plenty of things other people can do that aren't good for me. Alcohol just happens to be one of them. My job isn't to figure out how to drink like someone else. My job is to remember who I am. What alcohol has done in my life and what sobriety has given me. And maybe that is where freedom begins. Not when I finally learn how to drink normally, but when I finally stop wishing that I could. And the last thing I want to comment on is in Daily Reflections, this line says, Having faith freed me from the bondage of self. And I really wanted to comment on this because that's important to me. Freedom from the bondage of self for me means getting out of the prison of constantly thinking about what I want, what I deserve, what other people think of me, and how I think things should be. In active drinking and sometimes even in sobriety, I can become consumed with my fears, resentments, expectations, and need for control. Recovery teaches me that freedom doesn't come from getting everything to go my way. It comes from loosening my grip on myself. When I try to be useful to someone else, practicing acceptance, make amends, ask for help, or simply stop making everything about me, the world seems to get a little bigger and my problems a little smaller. Freedom from the bondage of self doesn't mean that I stop caring about myself. It means that I stop being ruled by myself. And that gives me room to live with more humility, gratitude, peace, and purpose. And with that, I will close today's episode of Sober Readings. So thank you so much for listening. I hope something you heard, something I said, stays with you today and helps you through your journey. If you'd like to be a guest on the show and share your experience, strength, and hope, or even join me for a reading, that would be great. There is a link down below in the show notes to my email. And if you enjoy Sober Readings and would like to help support the podcast, you can drop a dollar in the donation basket using the link down below also in the show notes. So again, thank you so much for listening. Remember, just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day, everyone, and as my friend Larry says, best day ever.