Friday, October 7, 2011

Friday update

Last night, we hosted a drop in to say farewell to my sponsor.  It was nice to see so many people, some of whom I haven't seen in a few years.  We enjoyed cooking and always enjoy seeing people eat what we cook.  I think that my sponsor had a good time visiting with Al-Anon friends.

Quite a few people commented on the distance that I have to drive to get to meetings.  I have found that if a person wants something bad enough, they will do what has to be done to get it.  I wanted what Al-Anon offered so I got to meetings. It didn't seem unusual to me at all.  I was willing to go to whatever lengths were necessary.

One of my good friends is going through a hard time in marriage.  His wife is depressed, he's depressed and a marriage of over 30 years has become strained.  He goes to therapy and wants the wife to go also.  But whether or not she goes is not something he can control.  We talked about that a while last night.  When things are going well in life, it is easy to remember the steps.  But recovery is there to carry us through the stressful times.

Several people said that they would like to come back to this house and land to simply hang out.  They found it peaceful and serene.  One of my ideas is to have an Al-Anon retreat weekend here, where we could get together during the day for workshops, have a speaker or two, and a barbecue in the evening.  People could then go home to spend the night and come back the next day.  The house is large enough to have workshops in different rooms and even out doors on the porch or deck.  It is something to think about for the spring.

Today, I am heading to the boat to do some varnishing.  I won't be going out on her this weekend but will stay at the marina to do some work.  Next week, all being well,  we will head up the coast to the wooden boat show.  It is a fun event and one that I go to just about every year.  Going up and staying on the sailboat for the festival will be something new.

Finally, I want to say that I am glad to be a Mac person.  It is like being a gear head.  I am grateful for what Steve Jobs did.  He created some great tools. But I think that his greatest accomplishment was in educating so many of us about what technology can do.  When he would stand up in his black shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, I thought he was a kind of shaman, a guru who was about to announce something amazing and magical.

I've read that he wanted perfection.  He would say "Do it again" until it is right, profound and astonishing.  I think that he was a visionary who saw a path to something that would change technology and how we think of computers.  He worked to make the vision a reality which is something that makes him great. Thanks for your contributions that I found inspiring, intuitive, and magical.

We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it. ~Steve Jobs


Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. ~ Steve Jobs

11 comments:

  1. nice thoughts on steve jobs...he was a brilliant mind...ugh on the friend with marriage problems...prayers for them in that...it can be overcome...i think your retreat idea sounds cool...

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  2. I think you idea of a retreat at your home is so generous. The way you spoke of your area sounds so serene. Thanks for your words about Mr. Jobs. The world has lost one of its best.

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  3. Thank you for checking in on Steve Jobs. I was graduating from the 8th grade when I was brought into the convent library for a one hour demo on what was an early Apple. This was to be the new computer room. I didn't touch another computer until 5 years later in college and the progression of the technology was awe inspiring. How far that man took us....

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  4. I solved my driving a distance to get to a meeting dilemma in 2 ways. I do my shopping and errand running on Wednesdays, so I am already in town to go to my home group meeting, and I started a meeting much closer to home, so I don't have another 35 mile round trip the next night, which equals about $5 in gas these days, which can mean the difference between eating or not that day for me.

    Thank you for your thoughts of and quotes from Steve Jobs. I've been a Mac user almost exclusively since my first computer in1997, only going to the dark side grudgingly when work required it.

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  5. Few people have the guts to live the way Steve Jobs did, focusing on producing what he did up to his own standards of quality, and living fully and immediately. I believe recovery helps me do this. It also helps me focus on things I have given short shrift to in the past, particularly to taking care of myself financially. If I want "freedom from fear of financial insecurity," as Steve Jobs had, God isn't going to just come down one day and give me a pile of money. I have to work hard, hold myself accountable to high standards, and be willing to charge for what I do. I have given away a great deal of myself for free—this is what children of alcoholics do, or at least what I learned to do as a child of an alcoholic family. I don't have to do that anymore.

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  6. If we want the recovery, we will do whatever is necessary. An Al-Anon retreat weekend sounds wonderful.

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  7. I have been surprised to see some "well, he was just a man who knew how to market really well" types of comments about Steve Jobs which just astounds me. I mean, ASTOUNDS ME! He was so much more. A visionary who knew how to make his visions come true.
    Thanks for being someone who recognizes that.
    In fact, Syd, thanks for so very many things. I feel that you are a good and stable force in the universe.

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  8. These two specific quotes and their specific content, have a finger on my pulse at the moment as well as on the pulse of overall truth. A finger on my pulse in a profound way. But not surprising way. My higher power proves to be a master of surprises over and over :) . The quotes are for me sort of a summarizing or concluding response to my current events and my reaction to them - much like a lawyer's closing remarks at trial. Anyway, thank you... Much appreciated...

    p.s. Much appreciated...
    also to Guinevere for her remarks above.

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  9. I recommend the book Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson for your friend. It's a really good book about relationships and breaking cycles of negativity

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  10. I wish I lived closer, I would love to come to your retreat! :)

    I have truly enjoyed learning about Steve Jobs and all that he did! I love that last quote! He was an amazing person.

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  11. I think you need an AA speaker at your retreat - and I can volunteer! (aren't you the lucky one!)

    When I lived in Canada, I would drive 90 miles round trip a couple of times a week to get to an AA meeting that I felt comfortable in.

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Let me know what you think. I like reading what you have to say.