Latest / Sober Readings / The Forest And The Trees
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Tuesday, the 5th of May. Let's begin 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, the forest and the trees, What comes to us alone 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. That's from 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, page 60. I cannot count the times when I have been angry and frustrated and said to myself, I can't see the forest for the trees. I finally realized that what I needed when I was in such pain was someone who could guide me in separating the forest and the trees, who could suggest a better path to follow, who could assist me in putting out fires and help me avoid the rocks and pitfalls. I asked God when I'm in the forest, to give me the courage to call upon a member of AA. Today's reading from 24 Hours, May 5, AA Thought for the Day. I had to show off and boast so that people would think I amounted to something, when of course both they and I knew that I really didn't amount to anything. I didn't fool anybody. Although I've been sober for quite a while, the old habit of building myself up is still with me. I still have a tendency to think too well of myself and to pretend to be more than I really am. So ask yourself, Am I always in danger of getting a swelled head just because I'm sober? the meditation for the day. I cannot ascertain the spiritual with my intellect. I can only do it by my own faith and spiritual faculties. I must think of God more with my heart than with my head. I can breathe in God's very spirit in the life around me. I can keep my eyes turned towards the good things in the world. I am shut up in a box of space and time but I can open a window in that box by faith. I can empty my mind of all the limitations of material things. I can sense the eternal. and today's prayer for the day. I pray that whatever is good I may have. I pray that I may leave to God the choice of what good will come to me. And for today's final reading, we're going to go to a book called Touchstones, a book of daily meditations. And this book is similar to daily reflections and 24 hours in that there's a prayer or in this case a meditation for each day of the year. So we'll go to May 5th. Our first step in this program introduces us to a radical idea that accepting our powerlessness is beneficial. Yielding to life's embrace takes us in wonderful directions. The experience of meeting this still-unformed day, defining how we will live today, making contact with our higher power, accepting the variety and the beauty that is here for us, far exceeds our individual power. Yet in surrendering to life as it unfolds, we find ourselves on an adventure. This is like reading a good story or unraveling an exciting mystery. Anyone, whether he has an addiction or not, who tries to take control of what cannot be controlled, brings trouble to himself. Today, let us engage with life. I will accept both the embrace and the insecurity of not being in charge. So I hope you enjoyed that last reading from Touchstones. Again, there's a reading for each day of the year similar to Daily Reflections. And that brings us to the end of today's episode of Sober Readings. I hope you enjoyed the show. If you did, please hit the like button and share this episode with someone who might like it. And also leave a comment. And if you'd like to be a guest reader on Sober Readings, just send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com and we can certainly make that happen. And if you'd like to drop a dollar in the virtual donation basket for today's readings, just go to soberreadings.com and click the donate button. So again, 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.