September Serenity - week 4

[Lavande]

September Serenity - week 4

WOW! The gang is all here this morning..........except our driver Sooty! C'mon Sooty......

DATE NIGHT RUSTY!!!!! Woo Hoo! We will wait patiently for your report

I have to run now, first a dental cleaning, then a haircut then back home to work.
Wishing everyone a terrific AF Tuesday.
Will be back later
Lav

[sooty]

September Serenity - week 4

Hi everyone, I'm here Lav, didn't have time to log on first thing this morning as I have been to the big city today (about 50 miles away), Mr S had to go to a funeral and I hitched a ride to spend time with some old friends.

On the motorway today we kept seeing a Greyhound bus so I was thinking of you all over the pond, it looked very luxurious - but not as good as the bus I'm driving.

Have a good Tuesday everyone, its lovely to be part of such a wonderful supportive group.

Lots of :l to all of you
Sooty

[papmom3]

September Serenity - week 4

I'm here too-just lurking as I have TONS of work to do but wanted to check in.

:l

[ladybirdheart]

September Serenity - week 4

Sounds as though everybody is super busy; thank you for the thought Rustop, it is good to reflect in the midst of all this Doing. I understand the stress of being homebound after much independence PA, it has only happened to me a couple of times in my life and I have not managed it very gracefully. I know our real freedom is internal but I am a mover. Rusty, you shall have no secrets I fear with your date, I am vicariously participating in romance wherever I can find it. I am having a far more balanced day than in the past few, went swimming early on, worked on writing up my assignment from yesterday, intellectually an arduous task but interrupted by a luxurious dress up lunch out, and now I am going into the garden and dig up some little plants to get them safely the out of the way as I must sadly have a lovely old tree cut down tomorrow. I have far more tall trees than most people in the city and this one is a favorite, but it dropped dead in the past three or four weeks of what the arborist described as a constellation of problems I could not have avoided, sort of a perfect storm for a sweet old juniper. I can?t believe I have to spend yet more money unexpectedly, time to work, work, work. I shall think about your question, Star, about how we each spend our time to make these alcohol free lives meaningful, I tend to just live my life without much reflection, there is always so much to choose from. Love to Dill, Sooty, Lav, Chill, Rebirth, Cyn, Pap, SD, and all. Ladybird.

[rebirth]

September Serenity - week 4

Stargazerlily;968977 wrote: .

Rebirth, so good to hear from you. Is anything particularly bringing you down? Or is it just life in general? Since it is cold and rainy in the UK, it can really contribute to feelings of negativity.

Star- Thats a good question as I was trying to understand why I was feeling so low... I am self employed and business has been dreadful recently.So that has been a worry. I also had to deal with a very difficult customer on the weekend. She upset me alot and left me shaken and hurt.

But in reflection none of that should have made me feel so low. I have my health, a home, a beautiful intelligent son, a loving BF. I just dont get why I wont look at the bigger picture?! It seems like I enjoy wallowing in self pity...I need to do alot of work on myself!!

I have started to meditate the past few days..Just focused on breathing. What Yoga ia the best for calming the mind? Anyone knows?

Anyway today is drawing to an end but it was a really good one. I am dying to know what happened on Rusty's date!!!!!!! No sugar and no alcohol for this girl today!

Good night all. x

[Chillgirl]

September Serenity - week 4

September Serenity
As our serene month ends in the next few days I have been reflecting on the life moments shared between us this month and was amazed at what we have been through:-

A wedding, a forthcoming birth, an operation, great nursing tips, a talented musician & songwriter, dog agility training, weight loss, krispie kreme dougnuts, a birthday, a yard sale, marathon training & injuries, cycling, meditation, EFT tapping, computer virus's, relationship troubles, difficult people, sick friends, comforting our children, gardening, good exam results, financial crisis, painters, dress shopping, zone diets, the dark side of the moon, new born chicks, beautiful quotes & poetic writing, travel and a date!

And all of it with great love and support from one another :l

Sending you all much love and a big welcome to SD

[Chillgirl]

September Serenity - week 4

Rebirth - I do vinyasa yoga but i think any type at all is good for centering & calming ourselves, also whenever you remember in the course of your daily business just to stop and take some deep breaths should help as well as the meditation. A bit of pampering in the evening too, a nice bath with some candles, relaxing music and no watching tv just before bed should help you unwind. :l

[sdlovespackers]

September Serenity - week 4

This has been my first chance at a computer....please don't take it as i'm not wanting change....my life is so in fast forward, never stop, I promise I am completely into October 1st sobriety!!!!!!!

[papmom3]

September Serenity - week 4

Welcome SD!!

Chill-that summing up of the month was beautiful!! Thank you!

LBH-You write so beautifully as well-I would think there is someway you could earn some $$ with that wonderful talent!!

PAguy-chin up!! You will get through this and each day you will discover a new thing you can do again. What doesn't kill us...... Lots of little doggie kisses should help!! He must be in heaven with you home all these weeks!!

Rusty-spill the beans as soon as you can!!

Oh my. all of a sudden overwhelming tiredness so must say goodnite. I might not have mentioned all of you but you are in my thoughts for sure!! Can't wait to wake up with a clear head tomorrow and "see" you all!!

:l

[cyntree]

September Serenity - week 4

Chill - thanks for the reminder of all that went on this month -- it really has been an incredibly rich ride. How are you doing with your life plans? Thinking about you. I had another brainstorm about a business for you (probably as off the wall as all the others!);; you are so great with photos, you understand the thrill of travel, you love to write....how about having a business taking everyone's travel photos, interviewing them (the people!), and putting together gorgeous photo books with quotes and pithy observations, or videos with still photos and great music (Mr G?)? The thought came to me today when I stumbled across my photos from my May/June trip to Italy and Spain...there they are, languishing in my computer, and me with no time or talent to put them all together...if I knew someone with soul that I trusted my story with, I'd pay a premium price to get them together in books that I could give my family for the holidays..........Anyway, there's my mind working overtime again!

Rebirth - good for you for staying so strong! I think what you are voicing is something that many of us here struggle with - even when you are AF, the hard parts of life are still there, darn. Glad that you are talking about it, and my goodness making a swift rise above it all.

LBH - so sorry, hard to lose a tree. You do always seem to be on the move...hope tonight was an easy one for you.

Rustop - thanks for the reminder.

PA - you really have been dealing with all your challenges so incredibly well - I'm sending you Patience, express mail - hope it helps get you over this hump. You are a great model for perseverance.

And speaking of hump, I'll 'see' you all on Humpday...so sleepy now my fingers are slipping on the keys.

Good night/morning to all, sorry I didn't mention all by name, know that I'm thinking of you -

[Chillgirl]

September Serenity - week 4

Good morning guys

Cyn - what a charming idea! You have a great imagination and I will definitely give it some thought.

I have a real jumble of thoughts going on in my head right now and I'm just straightening them out. My trip to the UK was a roller coaster of realizations. On the 1st day, as always, I'm like a kid in a candy store, everything seems amazing, it's like arriving in a time machine to the future, everything is modern and functioning, there are shops selling everything and cafes & bars full of people. I think wow! I wanna be part of this big world and all the opportunities it holds, i want to meet new people and do new things, i see career possibilites, courses i can take, there are things happening everywhere!

As time passes I find it busy, dirty, cold, I realize the bright lights don't replace the sunshine and countryside, I realize I'm not mad on being surrounded by people anyway! I know if I moved back there it would be to somewhere rural and it starts to let me see all the thinks I DONT want in life. On the last day I'm counting the hours to leave and it's a great relief to get on that plane. It's SO good to be home in this backward land, life moves more slowly, there are no traffic queues and less people. In the perfect world you'd move in and out of both but for now I'd like to stay in Portugal, to at least spend the next 6 months here and enjoy the mild winter.

My Parents are still staying with me and my two Sisters arrive tomorrow for the weekend, normality will resume next week and the time to face my next move....

Wishing you all a wonderful hump day Wednesday :l

[rebirth]

September Serenity - week 4

Good morning folks

Hey Chill thanks for the tips. And I totally agree that you should stay in Portugal. I cant imagine growing old in the UK. I find it too fast , too impersonal, weather sucks and all this fast food just make you fat! I have a future plan to get my business running so that it can operate without me being physically here. Right now I visualise spending half a year in India ( on the coast). But this plan cannot come into action till my son is older. I love India! Its so spiritual.

Have a lovely hump day all. xx

[rebirth]

September Serenity - week 4

Rusty tune in and spill the beans! It's about time there was a wedding on here!!

[Rusty]

September Serenity - week 4

Good Humpday Morning Friends,

Well, my date did not turn out. He called me about 2 hours beforehand and told me his best friend had been in a motorcycle accident (they are into Harleys but you wouldn't know it) and wasn't expected to make it. He texted me later and said he didn't survive. I just hope this wasn't some big lie. Truth be told, I was not disappointed. I had insomnia Monday night and did not sleep a single wink and yesterday, it took everything in my power just to make it through the work day. I used to get my hopes up so high in anticipation of events like these, and conversely, agonize for months about something I thought would happen (in a negative way) and it never materialized. All very wasted time and energy, but no more! I will be in Chicago all next week and he wants to meet up then. We'll see. Rebirth, you make me laugh No, sorry to say....I don't think there will be a wedding to report. I am a confirmed bachelorette. So glad you are finding peace in meditation and yoga....you handled your rough patch brilliantly.

Chill-you sound like you're handling things as best you can, and AF, good for you!

Cyn-I like your ideas about Chill's possibilities for writing and photography. I know what you mean about having photos from vacations and not knowing how to present them in a way that depicts all the joys of your trip. I have the same problem.

Wishing all my friends here that I missed another AF day: Lav, Star, LBH, Sped, G, Paguy, Papmom, SD, Sooty and Rustop-hope you are all well, and I will check in later, after my workout (YAY!) and when I take a break from work. You guys are the best!

[Guitarista]

September Serenity - week 4

Hi Chilli, RB, Rusty and all serene optomisticalist's!

Glad you're happy being home Chilli.
RB, India sounds like a great plan. I haven't been yet, but i hear Goa is beautiful, like most of the country, i'm sure. A mate has gone to Thailand for......? A few month's he say's, but he mightn't come back either. I like that plan too!
Hope you're well Rusty, and you do something special for yourself today.

A safe, sober, happy, and magical day to everyone.