My husband and I just returned to our winter residence in Florida. \u00a0Each time we have made this trek south, I have done so with mixed feelings. \u00a0I love MN. \u00a0I feel very attached to both family and friends there. \u00a0I got sober there. Met my husband there. \u00a0My sponsor is there. \u00a0But now I am here. \u00a0For 21 years we have moved between the two locations. \u00a0It’s not that the move is fraught with problems. \u00a0Not at all. \u00a0It’s just that until I get reconnected on this end, I am like a fish out of water. \u00a0Slightly depressed. \u00a0A bit lost. \u00a0Not entirely comfortable in my own skin.<\/p>\n
And then I go to a meeting. \u00a0Home. \u00a0Home once again. \u00a0How lucky we are that home is truly where the heart is and my heart is in 12 step rooms. \u00a0I’ve concluded that the ennui, the discontent, is because of being out of my routine for a few days. \u00a0I think I conclude this every year, actually, but then I “disremember”<\/em> it. \u00a0Disremembering is different from forgetting, I think. \u00a0Disremembering is what the ego causes to happen. \u00a0When I reconnect with friends on this end, it’s like reopening a gift that I have put away for awhile because I treasure it so much.<\/p>\n That’s how I felt at the Monday Al-Anon meeting. \u00a0There they were. \u00a0All my southern friends in their chairs just as I had left them. \u00a0The discussion was focused on the gifts of the fellowship because there were some newcomers. \u00a0I was so pleased, as always, to remember for myself and recount for others all that I have received from filling a chair in Al-Anon. \u00a0My life was headed to a miserable dead-end before discovering the gifts of connecting with others who understood my pain and were able to share their experiences for living the better life. \u00a0Connection. \u00a0It’s all about connection.<\/p>\n I so appreciate that connection isn’t reserved just for the 12 step rooms. \u00a0It’s a behavior, a state of mind, a spiritual philosophy. \u00a0I know that when I connect with others in meetings or in the grocery store, I am honoring the spirit each of us has been born with. \u00a0When we isolate ourselves, when we look down rather than at the others on our path, we disengage from all that it means to be alive. \u00a0I’m not sure I knew any of this before coming into the rooms of the fellowship, but it know it now. \u00a0And I am so grateful that I have been shown the value of connection. \u00a0It makes every moment of living sizzle with excitement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My husband and I just returned to our winter residence in Florida. \u00a0Each time we have made this trek south, I have done so with mixed feelings. \u00a0I love MN. \u00a0I feel very attached to both family and friends there. \u00a0I got sober there. Met my husband there. \u00a0My sponsor is there. \u00a0But now I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-circle-of-family-and-friends-you-and-your-personal-community","category-karens-musings"],"yoast_head":"\n