Originally Posted by venuscat
I am thinking with you
kev....
A couple of ideas.....are the people in your AA group nice? Do you go out for coffee and things after meetings? Maybe, it would be good to try some other meetings....I know that I made some very close friends in AA, eventually. But I needed to do different meetings. Just having a girlfriend to go to a movie with was such a big deal for me....
Another thing I think about here (because I also need more face2face friends) is doing an activity that interests me...for me it's animals and social welfare and flowers
If I had time and was well enough, I could have volunteered at any number of awesome places....botanical gardens, animal shelters, local council volunteer stuff for every event that is on around here....they need people always. German Village is a major tourist attraction.
It's a good way to meet people.....what about a local walking group....if you can with your leg, I think you already walk a lot....put up a little notice....I bet people will join you. And it is very safe....a good way to meet new people without worrying about who the heck is this person in my house?
♥
Also thanks for the recommendations about places to find new friends.
I don't think AA is the best place to look for them at the moment. I do have some contacts / friends there that I do see outside of meetings but I find with them there's always this unwritten law to bring up the steps or the program whenever I mention a problem. Which isn't always helpful I find. At least it has proven to really not be so helpful regarding the abuse from my ex. I'd love to be able to talk to my AA friends just as a friend at some times and just wanting their opinion as a human and not some advice on how to use the program better. The program is helpful but sometimes I just need compassion, or a "normal" suggestion like running a hot bath, seeing a comforting movie and not the "say a prayer, talk to HP, do a forth step and stay on your side of the road"-talk
I think finding friends through activities that interest me is a great idea! I have put art classes on my list and maybe a bonsai group if there is such a thing
It just can't be too time consuming because it turned out I have a ton of interests and hobbies all of a sudden. That reminds me, I just started rug hooking which I find so exciting! Maybe I can find a rug hooking class/group/club, that would be a cool thing.
Another thing that would be great was to find people in a similar age group which could be hard in a rug hooking group or a walking group
I love walks but right now I could only join a bunch of really old people, my leg needs some more time.
Kenton, I put meditation groups on my list, thanks! I already had thought of yoga but wasn't sure if it's an option with my leg still not being so flexible again. One thing that is a bit lame about my city is that many many people come here to live a bit of a bohemian / hippie lifestyle, doing yoga, eating healthy vegan food, doing mindfulness and being creative BUT then go on raves every weekend, getting high on I don't know how many different substances... It's a common thing to do here which never made sense to me. Caring so much about emotional stability, serenity and a healthy body and mind during the week to ruin everything on the weekends again. But not every yoga or meditation group will be like that, just gotta find the right ones.
Oh and I hope everything went well with your eye checkup! My Canadian aunt needs to get hers fixed with some scary sounding laser surgery. Crazy what modern medicine is able to do!
1newcreation Funny that we both had this topic up for discussion with our therapists. I can be quite specific myself with topics I like to talk about. I dislike smalltalk and I don't like gossip or talking too openly about sex, it's just not my cup of tea. Also I'm not into many of the things my demographics are usually interested in. I'm 28 but care more about bird watching and handiwork or actual rocket science, history of languages, recycling, old trains or other weird stuff than about movies, series, DJs, or any other kind of celebrity. I do have good chats with my neighbours sometimes who are all pensioners though
Do you have any ideas where to start looking for new contacts? Maybe also something activity related?
(I can never read through this thread without wanting cake afterwards, I wonder why that is
Thanks for posting all those delicious looking photos Leigh, so many creations I've never even seen before and I bake A LOT!)