We meet all over and the fellows are from all walks of life. Diversity is the key to our success. The more diverse we are the more likely we all identify with others and get to hear stuff which is about our own situation. We are problem solvers most of all, how to deal with the day to day, a day at a time.

Today has been good, the meeting was full of people all ages and backgrounds, mind all adults on the outside and like most of us still kids on the inside. Strange how we don’t see ourselves as grown up even though we are in grown up company. Age is no indicator of maturity. Age indicates how much time is left, which is more of a reason the philosophy we hold close is a day at a time. For today is as good a day as any for it all to move on with or without us, it’s the quality of the day we look to make to the good.

Some stuff for me, I realised that we all forget wherever we are, we are all first and foremost human beings. We all have the same basics, the template we are provided by nature, the opportunity to grow as our environment and experience enable. We surely are products of our environment. Yet with subtle differences we all bring our unique and authentic selves to this day.

We certainly all are unique and authentic. At the same time our similarities make our existence possible and pleasurable. We coexist with harmony and conflict as our backgrounds and learned prejudice afford.

Our fellowship helps us understand our great similarities and help iron out the differences. For indeed we are not driven to conflict, we are driven to coexist. We did cover past experiences, how our lives are working or not indeed in the present day. For some things do work without doubt, but as with society there is much to endure as enjoy and life is just that, a mixture of many elements.

To the good, our humanity stands proud, we can share our greatest triumphs and hardships. For it is our nature as survivors to be explicit and truthful about our nature, the good qualities and our less attractive ones too.

Getting we share, we express and we learn from each other. We know good ways of living. Some of us get connected to our modern lives with greater aplomb because we can find therapeutic relief and learn new ways to deal with our day to day. Fantastic to know I have somewhere to go to help make my world work every day. Its not magic, although we are tempted to suggest it may be.

Why it works? Its really quite simple as time goes by, the exercise of good relations and good conscience make our lives more manageable as we get to grips with reality. For every fellow has faced the ultimate challenge of insanity, to keep doing harm over and over and expecting a miracle to happen.

When I encountered my fellows today, my eyes open and my mind receptive to listen, I heard my life story and stories which give meaning and message to make good daily living, from the extraordinary to the ordinary as life will dictate.

Inside me was understanding, compassion and humour, patience and tolerance. For as any gathering will challenge every good part of us, so too we are challenged as more difficult commentary and youngsters to our fellowship describe their calamity. And some youngsters are as old as the hills and old timers, years younger than me, just kids all of us discovering what it is to be grown up. And the grown ups out in the world never discover quite the level of human doings we are able to witness. For in the real world the drift of life never offers such insight and opportunity. And why should it?

I am a grateful fellow, the equal of any other, neither bigger or smaller, full of human doings, and doing some human things. A real gift to find a path where the light and the dark are as manifest and challenging as yours, the mind clear to make good on reality and good conscience to guide my steps. Ah for a sober life…