MirAmar

This is the view from the patio area ........ if you are using the zoom on the camera, otherwise it is a big ole honking mc mansion. I have been told, repeatedly, that once upon a time it was all view. I never saw it to miss it, so I love what I do get. Even if I have to zoom in to get it!

I am not sure what I want to talk about regarding this retreat. The theme on Friday was the slogans of AA. Keep It Simple, One Day At A Time, WE Can, Easy Does It .... ALL the slogans. The focus by the end of the weekend was on FEEL, DEAL, HEAL.

As with every retreat I have been on, there are people who come through the door and the pain of life on life's terms just radiates off them. They are tight looking. Death, sickness, divorce, family, work, money ......... life. It is overwhelming them. Some come seeking the love and help to get over the crisis, other because they had paid for the room before the crisis hit.

Some are brave enough to share that first night in the open meeting, others in the small group, and others still just one on one a little bit at a time. I am sure too that there are some that never bring it to the table either. I pray hardest for them.

Never though does one person, one problem, take over the entire retreat. At least not when I have gone. Nor does the pain, problems, just plain bad crap take over. Instead I see a depth of love, care, and honesty shared. Feel, Deal, Heal. Laughter, oh so much laughter. You see, can actually SEE people unclench ... even if it is just a finger. Their heads lift up just a bit. Just a bit is such a good start.

As for the rest of us, with our smaller issues. We talk too. We draw strength from the people who walked in with the mountains on their shoulders. They have THIS going on, and they are HERE, not at a bar. They have THIS going on, and they are TRYING to move on. Their issues may be bigger, but that does not take away from the smaller issues. Instead, two things are going on. Learning. Learning how to DEAL, big or small. Giving. Giving those hugs, laughs, love, to help each other, and small issues just get smaller. Awesome.

For some reason the pattern of the patio area fascinated me this weekend. Just the texture of the stones, the way they fit together, and the view if you were like me and tucked in the corner hiding from the wind. It is kind of like the retreat itself. Some stones bigger than others, facing different ways, gaps between them, cracked... But taken at a whole, make up a whole, and a whole beautiful vista. WE CAN