Very grateful to visit family in San Francisco this week, which included hitting our home-away-from-home group as well as another meeting across the bay that we like. Attending meetings while traveling is a given, and it's especially sweet to check in with people we've come to know.

In my regular meetings, I can be lulled into personalities before principles with comfort of the familiar. In away meetings I am more apt to focus on the message instead of the messenger, more open-minded and in the moment, rather than allowing myself to drift to the grocery list or the fill-in-the-blank that can plague me at home where I sometimes lose track of why my butt is in the chair. Same reason as 30+ years ago - in order to stay sober and to grow in my ability to practice the principles.

What I heard this week was that the act of sitting in a meeting is spiritual practice - seated in silence, listening respectfully, speaking my truth if so moved. I was reminded of both the pain and the beauty involved in surrendering to not knowing what's next. From a dear friend of my husband's, who has been walking through health issues, I heard, loud and clear, the message of "don't wait." Don't wait to take care of my body. Don't wait to appreciate the love in my life. Don't wait to let go of that which no longer serves me (& never really did).

Family meals, a walk on the beach, a visit to the Botanical Gardens, and our daily meetings sent me home full of love and the serenity of vacation. My chosen task is to carry that mindset into the workaday world. Laundry needs doing, bills need paying, but I can do so with intention rather than rushing through the motions. I try to make my first conscious thought of the day "thank you, God, for this amazing life." I sometimes forget the "amazing" as I hurry through the day's tasks. Today, I find a quiet joy in the relative simplicity of coming home - cats purring, the prospect of sleeping in our own bed, a beautiful autumn day; happy to travel and so happy to be home.

What does "home" mean to you? Who are you glad to see during your week, whether in meetings, work or where you live? Do they know how you feel?