Connections over time...

Last night I sat in circle, a sacred campfire of recovery, with three people I've been meeting with monthly for eight, maybe nine years. Sharing over time, we've gotten to that wonderfully comfortable place of being able to say, "Here is my stuff, again," with little explanation or apology needed. We know each other, in a deep way, having participated in our individual and collective growth as we've applied the steps to our addictions and co-dependency, to the aging process, or as we've simply sat still long enough to take the deep breath that signals it is ok to relax and be known.

I  love that I sometimes sit in 12 step meetings with friends I've known since grade school. Being in recovery long term and living in the same city has given me a connection over time to particular meetings, to folks I see just now and then, and has allowed deep, lasting friendships with those from the early years as well as sponsors and others whose paths have intertwined with mine, whether they live here, or half-way around the world.

Some might think it provincial, but I deeply appreciate that I live on the edges of the neighborhood I grew up in. There is a quote, by I don't know who, that says if you sit at a particular cafe in Paris, everyone you've ever known will walk by. For me, it is Hollywood Fred Meyer where I routinely see people I went to grade school and high school with, or others from my past. I love my connection to this place - my particular corner of NE Portland - where I've developed friendships that have lasted nearly my lifetime. I love it that I see former school mates at my gym, or riding their bikes in the neighborhood. I love that I met one of my closest friends on her 18th birthday, forty-some years ago, and that her family has become like mine. I was lucky enough to grow up with my cousins, so double that connection over time and space. Few of these people need the back story, because they are the back story.

I treasure those conversations that start, "Remember the time we..." or "You'll never guess who I ran into!"  Equally precious are talks with those who've listened to my deepest fears as well as my highest joys. I honor the many ways we bear witness to each other.

I am loving life on these beautiful November days, feeling grateful for connections over time.