Latest / Sober Readings / A.A.'s Freedoms
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- Scott Hayes: Good morning everyone, welcome to Sober Readings. Today is Friday, March 27th. Today's reading from Daily Reflections. AA's Freedoms. We trust that we already know what our several freedoms truly are. That no future generation of AA's will ever feel compelled to limit them. Our AA freedoms create the soil in which genuine love can grow. That is from The Language of the Heart, page 303. I craved freedom. First, freedom to drink. Later, freedom from drink. The AA program of recovery rests on a foundation of free choice. There are no mandates, laws, or commandments. AA's spiritual program, as outlined in the 12 steps, and by which I am offered even greater freedoms, is only suggested. I can take it or leave it. Sponsorship is offered, not forced. And I come and go as I will. It is these and other freedoms that allow me to recapture the dignity that was crushed by the burden of drink, and which is so dearly needed to support an enduring sobriety. Today's reading from 24 Hours. March 27, AA Thought for the Day. You get the power to overcome drinking through the fellowship of other alcoholics who have found the way out. You get power by honestly sharing your past experience by a personal witness. You get power by coming to believe in a higher power, the divine principle in the universe which can help you. You get power by working with other alcoholics. In these four ways, thousands of alcoholics have found all the power they needed to overcome drinking. So ask yourself, Am I ready and willing to accept this power and work for it? Today's meditation for the day. The power of God's Spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Men's conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest of wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little in the end. But he that conquers himself is greater than he who conquers a city. Material things have no permanence, but God's Spirit is eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of the power of God's today's prayer for the day. I pray that I may open myself to the power of God's Spirit. I pray that my relationships with my fellow men may be improved by this Spirit. And today's final reading is from the Great Vine of 2024. And this short writing is titled, Darkness Visible. My drinking started when I was 17 years old. My friends and I got hold of some liquor and beer, which we drank in the back of my friend's truck bed. We sat drinking and smoking cigarettes. Everyone was getting pretty drunk and although I was pretty far gone, I kept drinking that whiskey. When I came to the next morning and found my friends still passed out cold, I found some more whiskey and started drinking all over again. Something else happened to me when I was 17. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I would get manic and would run around town all day long. My bipolar goes up and down. Mania and depression. When I get depressed, I am tired and don't have any energy. In the summer, I get more manic and can just go and go. Then I would crash. It's hard to catch up on sleep after being manic. Bipolar makes me feel depressed, anxious, angry, paranoid. and have racing thoughts. Sometimes I felt suicidal. My mind is not always the best place to be. My thoughts come and go very quickly. My alcoholism has led me to many dark and fearful places. I was married once and would hide my alcohol from my wife in the toilet tank or under the mattress and thought she would never look. I would go into the bathroom several times in the early morning hours to take several poles of whiskey. I remember thinking that this hell would never come to an end. My wife would yell at me constantly to stop drinking. I would always say, of course I will. But as the good alcoholic, I just drank more. Needless to say, finally got divorced because of my drinking. That hell I lived back then was not really a life at all. It was just an existence. I went from one blackout to another, from one drunk to the next. I've been given a chance to start over and to have a better life. My sponsor always tells me to go to meetings. I take his advice to heart. I love going to meetings because I always feel better afterward. I have many good friends in Alcoholics Anonymous. My doctor got me started on medication and I have to take my blood tests to make sure my medications are at the right levels. I find that being sober with this condition makes life easier to live well. I don't get as angry. Still, my life can be hard. I get frustrated very easily. Not everyone in meetings understands me. Sometimes it's hard to move forward, but I know that the group and God will get me through. And that was written by Toby ⁓ and Estes Park, Colorado. And that's it for today's readings. Thanks for listening, everyone. Leave your thoughts and your comments in an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com. or on my website at soberreadings.com. And while you're there, you can follow the show or if you'd like to leave a dollar in the donation basket, click the donate button. So again, thanks for listening. 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.