Whatever I Feel LikeGosh!

Continuing where I left off…

Friday night after my share and the meeting that followed, I found out a bunch of fun women from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina were also staying in my cabin. I was glad about that, since they were an absolute riot from what little I saw of them. I was looking forward to spending the weekend with them. On Saturday, I wanted to sleep in a bit since I didn’t get to bed until pretty late the night before and I also got my period (good times). However, the rabble rousers from South Carolina made all kinds of noise getting up around 6 AM. It wasn’t so bad, I did get to lay there for a bit and then when I got up I was able to take my time getting ready.

I also took that time to finish my preparation for the speaking engagement I had for later that evening. Once 8 o’clock rolled around, I headed to the dining hall for breakfast, followed by listening to a friend share his personal story of recovery. It was great to just be able to sit and listen instead of being in the spotlight. This guy has an incredible story, too, he takes the disease of food addiction very seriously because he knows so many people who have died from it. Sad, but true. He shared a great metaphor that really made a lot of sense to me. He said that choosing to indulge in compulsive overeating is like going to a young tree and tying a rope to it, and a noose around your neck with the same rope. You won’t die today or in the near future from food addiction, because it’s a slow killer. But it will kill you and the death won’t be pretty. Sobering thoughts.

After the speaker shared, we went to our different workshops. I chose the one on honesty. It was a great group and an excellent meeting. Afterwards we had lunch followed by 3 hours of free time. There were a number of available activities to choose from - mountain biking, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and rock climbing among them. I didn’t choose any of those, however. Instead, I went with a local guy and three elderly ladies to a local church to see some amazing frescoes and a labyrinth. I felt blessed to have the opportunity to see some of the local culture and experience this man’s church. I also felt jealous that his church was so incredible. I really want and need to find a church. Hopefully I can find one as nice as his.

Check out the frescoes in the main lobby of this church:

There are more of these in my Flickr, if you’re interested.

After we got to hear some interesting stories about the history of this man’s church, and viewed the frescoes at length, we took a walk outside to explore the labyrinth on the grounds past the cemetery.

I actually walked the path - it took more than 5 minutes to complete it one way! All told, we spent a couple of hours at the church, because we moved at a leisurely pace. On the way back to the retreat, he drove us by Moravian Falls. This picture doesn’t do the site justice - I had to take it from inside the car.

Once back at the retreat, it was time for another workshop. I chose to go back to my room and really retreat, though. I needed some quiet alone time. I finished my preparations for my final two speeches and then got inside my sleeping bag and read some of my novel. It felt delicious, but it was time for dinner all too soon. After dinner, it was time to do my talk on steps 4-6 and the principles associated with them. It went very well - I just quoted from our literature and shared my related experiences. There was entertainment that evening, but it was short-lived and unorganized. I spent most of that time talking quietly with one woman who wanted to know more about how I worked my food plan and program. I also spent some one-on-one time with a couple of other fantastic women.

I can’t say enough about how wonderful the people I met were. I’m excited to have new friends from different areas. I’m certain that at least some of our paths will cross again in the future.

Sunday was a short day at the retreat. I shared on steps 7-9 after breakfast and then we had the closing ceremonies and it was time for me to go home. I took with me a letter and a “love note” to remind me of my time there. Everyone there was asked to write an anonymous letter to someone as if it was their first time coming to program, then everyone took a letter when they left. Everyone also wrote their name on a piece of construction paper and hung it on a wall so everyone else could write little love notes on it all weekend. It was fun coming up with nice things to say to everyone. It was even better to read all of the wonderful things written on my paper when I took it down.

The trip back home was pretty uneventful. I was so glad to land in Philly, and even more happy to see my precious car sitting there waiting for me where I left her. I was so relieved to be home, and just vegged for the rest of the night. I missed my family like crazy while I was gone, and I was totally wiped out emotionally. It was a great experience, though, and I’m so glad I was able to have it. I’d say yes in a heartbeat if asked again in the future to speak somewhere.

[tags]recovery, retreat, spiritual retreat[/tags]