Latest / Sober Readings / A Fellowship Of Freedom
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Hey everyone, welcome back to Sober Readings. Today is the what is today? The 18th. Today's the 18th of June, and it is Thursday. Let's begin today with a 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, a Fellowship of Freedom. If only men were granted absolute liberty and were compelled to obey no one, they would then voluntarily associate themselves in the common interest. And that's from page fifty of As Bill Sees It When I no longer live under the dictates of another or of alcohol, I live in a new freedom. When I release the past and all the excess baggage I have carried for so very long, I come to know freedom. I have been introduced into a life and a fellowship of freedom. The steps are a recommended way of finding a new life. There are no commands or dictates in AA. I am free to serve from desire rather than decree. There is the understanding that I will benefit from the growth of other members and I take what I learn and bring it back to the group. The common welfare finds room to grow in the society of personal freedom. Today's reading from twenty four hours, june eighteenth, AA Thought for the Day. The AA way of living is not an easy one, but it's an adventure in living that is really worthwhile. And it's so much better than our old drunken way of living that there's no comparison. Our lives without AA would be worth nothing. With AA, we have a chance to live reasonably good lives. It's worth the battle, no matter how tough the going is from day to day. Isn't it worth the battle? The meditation for the day. The spiritual life has two parts. One is the life apart, the life of prayer and quiet communion with God. You spend this part of your life apart with God. Every day, your mind can be set in the right direction so that your thoughts will be of the right kind. The other is the life impart, imparting to others what you have learned from your own meditative experience. The victories you have won over yourself through the help of God can be shared with your fellow men. You can help them by imparting to them some of the victory and security which you have gained in your life apart. And today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may grow strong from my times apart with God. I pray that I may pass on some of this strength to others. Today's daily meditation from touchstones. Choice of attention, to pay attention to this and ignore that, is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences. W. H. Auden. Many of us have said I can't help myself when we try to stop our constant thinking about other people or their behavior. I know it's not good for me, but what can I do when they keep acting that way? Let us think of ourselves as living in a house with many windows. At each window is a different view, and within each view are many things to catch our attention. Perhaps there are some people, some traffic, some buildings, a horizon, some trees. If we always go to the same window and focus on the same object, we're not using all our choices. We may have overlooked some things in our lives that need attention. There are many things we are totally powerless over. Our power exists in changing the focus of our attention. Today I will notice where I am choosing to pay attention. I pray for guidance and being aware of my options. And our final reading today is from As Bill Sees It. We're going to page 299 Anonymity and Sobriety. As the AA groups multiplied, so did anonymity problems. Enthusiastic over the spectacular recovery of a brother alcoholic, we'd sometimes discuss those intimate and harrowing aspects of his case meant for his sponsor's ear only. The aggrieved victim would then rightly declare that his trust has been broken. When such stories got into circulation outside of AA, the loss of confidence in our anonymity promise was severe. It frequently turned people from us. Clearly, every AA member's name and story too had to be confidential if he wished. That's from the twelve and twelve page one hundred five. We now fully realize that one hundred percent personal anonymity before the public is just as vital to the life of AA as one hundred percent sobriety is to the life of each and every member. This is not the counsel of fear, it is the prudent voice of long experience. And that's from AA comes of age page two hundred ninety three. And that brings us to the end of today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show, as always, do me a huge favor and hit that like button and share this episode. Also, if you'd like to be a guest reader on the show, send me an email at sober readings with Scott at gmail.com and we can make that happen. If you'd like to drop a dollar on the virtual donation basket, I have a website you can 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 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.