Image credit: Photo by Cynergist on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons This past weekend, I had the privilege to attend a daylong class on Buddhism and recovery led by Kevin Griffin, author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps. At one point during the day, we broke off into pairs to [...]
Posts from ‘March, 2009’
On the Golden Gate Bridge
Image credit: Photo by serdir (at home) on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I suspect crossing the Golden Gate Bridge must get tiresome for the folks who commute across it each day -- the traffic, the fog, the monotony of routine -- but I am not one of those people. I was in the San [...]
Gone Fishing (and Requesting Some Input)
Image credit: Photo by UpNorth Memories - Donald (Don) Harrison on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I'm going to be away this weekend on a very cool and long-awaited trip (a gift to me from a collection of loved ones). So (alas!) no haikus on Friday or Second Road posts this weekend (as you can [...]
The Geographic Cure
"The only consistent feature in all of your dissatisfying relationships is you." despair.com Early in recovery, I struggled with the notion that the geographic cure -- trying to fix my life with a move to a new home, a new job or a new relationship -- is a fallacy. I know that I bring my [...]
Where Are all the Anon Meetings?
Image credit: Photo by pfala on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons When I first started going to S-Anon (a 12 Step recovery group for those affected by someone else's compulsive sexual behavior), I was immediately struck by how small the group was. If we had seven or eight people in the room, it was a [...]
Alex Barton’s Tie Dye Project
Image credit: Photo by mobilene on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons It's been a while since I've posted an update about the case of Alex Barton. Alex, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's (a form of autism), was voted out of his kindergarten class last spring after his teacher, Wendy Portillo, became frustrated with his [...]
Learning to Say No
I am getting better at saying no, when I mean no, but it's still an area where I have a lot of work to do. Saying "yes" to requests is like a reflex to me. Tap my knee and my foot bounces up, ask me for help and I say, "Yes." Oops. Wait. Let me [...]
What Would a Healthy Person Do?
Image credit: Photo by c@rljones on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons When I first discovered my husband's addiction, I knew I was going to need healing from the pain and devastation I was facing, so I looked for support groups for partners. But I couldn't seem to find plain old support; all I could find [...]
Sisterhood Haikus
My dear friend Kelly is the sister of my heart, my chosen family. We go out shopping, try a gaudy sweater dress just to laugh at it. Bright, flashy, sparkly, we expect pure tackiness but she looks stunning. The joke is on us: That strange, laughable dress proves everything's her style. Sisterhood Award inspired Kelly [...]
Isolation
Image credit: Photo by H@Ru on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I feel very comfortable in written words, in the virtual world, but relating to people face-to-face has always been more difficult for me. I'm an introvert (meaning that time around people drains me, even when I enjoy it) and although no longer noticeably shy, [...]
