Transcript

Equal Rights · Sober Readings

Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Thursday, the twenty-eighth of May. 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. Today's reading from Daily Reflections for May 28th. Equal rights. At one time or another, most AA groups go on rulemaking benders. After a time fear and intolerance subside, and we realize we do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive. That's from AA Tradition How It Developed Pages ten, eleven, and twelve. AA offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon conformity, financial success, or education, and I am so grateful for that. I often ask myself if I extend the same equality to others or if I deny them the freedom to be different. Today I try to replace my fear and intolerance with faith, patience, love, and acceptance. I can bring these strengths to my AA group, my home, and my office. I make an effort to bring my positive attitude everywhere that I go. I have neither the right nor the responsibility to judge others. Depending on my attitude, I can view newcomers to AA, family members and friends, as menaces or as teachers. When I think of some of my past judgments, it is clear how my self righteousness caused me spiritual harm. Today's reading from twenty four hours, May twenty eighth, AA thought for the day. In AA we can learn that since we are alcoholics we can be uniquely useful people. That is, we can help another alcoholic when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful. The AAs are a unique group of people because they have taken their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it as a means of helping others. We who have been through the mill are the ones who can best help other alcoholics. So ask yourself, do I believe that I can be uniquely useful? The prayer for the day. I should try to practice the presence of God. I can feel that He is with me and near me, protecting and strengthening me always. In spite of every difficulty, every trial, every failure, the presence of God suffices. Just to believe that He is near me brings strength and peace. I should try to live as though God were beside me. I cannot see Him because I was not made with the ability to see Him. Else there were no room for faith, but I can feel his spirit with me. In today's prayer for the day, I pray that I may try to practice the presence of God. I pray that by doing so I may never feel alone or helpless again. And today's final reading is from As Bill sees it. Today we're reading from page 289. When conflicts mount. Sometimes I would be forced to look at situations where I was doing badly. Right away the search for excuses would become frantic. These, I would exclaim, are really a good man's faults. When that pet gadget broke apart, I would think, well, if those people would only treat me right, I wouldn't have to behave the way I do. Next was this. God well knows that I do have awful compulsions. I just can't get over this one. So he will have to release me. At last came the time when I would shout This I positively will not do. I won't even try. Of course my conflicts went right on mounting because I was simply loaded with excuses, refusals, and outright rebellion. And that's from an article in a grapevine from June of nineteen sixty one. In self appraisal, what comes to us alone is may be garbled by our own rationalization and wishful thinking. The benefit of talking to another person is that we can get his direct comment and counsel on our situation. And that's from the 12 and 12, page 60. And that's it for today's episode of Sober Readings. If you enjoyed the show and you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's episode, please go to soberreadings.com and click the donate button. So thank you so much for listening, 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.