Getting to know meplumbing the depths of this heartcoming up lighter Full of gratitude that this day, three whole years ago, I gave up alcohol. I have never given up on myself since. Wishing everyone a beautiful Sunday. Ingrid Enjoying the sober life! https://www.amazon.com/Wounds-Healed-Poetry-Strong-Women/dp/1739757726/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2R8CN1CCTWQNH&keywords=wounds+i+healed+the+poetry+of+strong+women&qid=1658642348&sprefix=%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1 More tales of recovery and resilience. Available now!
My Poetry Prayerbook
Before I came back to my writing my own poetry (after an 18 year break!) I came into recovery from alcoholism. I was encouraged to seek help from a 'higher power' - whether this be God, a support group, the healing energy of the Universe, didn't matter. It had just ought to be something bigger... Continue Reading →
Putting your own mask on first
It's been used so much in the self-help world that it's become something of a cliche: the analogy of putting your own mask on first as a metaphor for self-care. However, this analogy has a special significance when it comes to recovery from alcoholism, or any other kind of addictive behaviour, particularly as this relates... Continue Reading →
Lessons learned in one year sober
Today I'm celebrating one year without drinking alcohol. One whole year's sobriety. People who knew me before might never have believed that. I might never have believed that. But the truth is, since having kids, I'd always wanted to get sober, and previously I'd even managed it for months at a time. But this time... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries 13: 9 Months Sober
If my sobriety were a baby, I should be giving birth today, to a Brand New Me. Or perhaps just to the Old Me, which would be the Young Me, before I started drinking. Unfortunately, I've been through a tough time over the last few days, and all the old behaviours are coming back: shouting... Continue Reading →
7: Exploring our Fears in the time of Covid-19
In the last few entries, I've been focusing on meditation and mindfulness as a means of staying sane during the current crisis. That does not mean, however, that we should never admit that we are scared. An important part of any recovery or self-discovery process is to bring our fears into the open. In examining... Continue Reading →
5: A Guided Meditation, Courtesy of Wordsworth
Poem of the Day: Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798 By William Wordsworth. I've chosen this poem because to me it describes most perfectly the experience of meditation, of switching off the mind and making contact with the Divine. The... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries 3: Staying Grounded
With the level of societal anxiety running high, today I'm taking a different approach and offering some tips for staying calm in quarantine. I'm no expert: I'm very much learning as I go along, but I find that some of the work I've done on mindfulness and mental grounding prior to being confined is helping... Continue Reading →