Why I Am Grateful for The Alliance - Day 194 - Daily Haiku - Why choosing our family is the best!!!

I suspect that, within The Alliance, I might not be the only member who not only finds this sign entertaining, but finds that it holds a smidgen of truth. In vino veritas. ;-)

Meeting great new friends
for the first time in person . . .
the first of many!

One of the challenges in moving to a new place is the reality of sometimes having to leave your closest friends behind.

And so it was, when I moved from Florida to Tennessee, that I was not just moving several states away, but leaving behind my primary support group; those who had seen me through the ending of my marriage, and the blossoming of my relationship with Marek . . . and everything before, in-between, and after.

Much as, when moving from California to Florida, many years before, I left behind all that I knew . . . and it took me well over a decade to find myself with a group of true compatriots once again. But find them I did.

One of the things I most valued about my meditation group in Florida was that, although we share wide areas of agreement, we are all also staunch individuals, and thus we are anything but an echo chamber.

Yes, strong opinions are shared within the group, and encouraged, and if you share them, you're expected to be able to defend them if asked.

And we do. Often.

And this was also true of my core group of friends in California, who shared core values, and had a great deal in common, but also shared divergent viewpoints in some areas, and weren't afraid to make their true views known.

Need I say that intellectual courage is something we all share in common?

And in Tennessee, though I've made friends from the start, including some very good friends, finding a core group of true compatriots was one of the things that has eluded me.

Until now.

I tried to make the Alliance meetup in Gatlinburg, but couldn't find anyone to care for our animals, so wound up unable to go, which was especially frustrating with how close it was to home. C'est la vie. Clearly not meant to be, or I would have been there.

Then came the recent meetup outside Atlanta, which I was determined not to miss. And, despite the person who had agreed to care for our animals reneging at the last moment, I still managed to make it out on Saturday night, to find myself greeted warmly by all those present. Ultimately, I managed to arrive shortly before sunset.

First came @enginewittty, who greeted me with a big hug, and immediately offered to help me unload my stuff into our weekend abode. Then came a couple of others, including @sircork, who also offered assistance, and helped me to get settled.

As I was only staying the one night, @katrina-ariel generously offered me the use of her room for the night, which afforded me a secure way of confining our tiny kitten Truffle, as I was concerned about her possibly finding herself outside in the woods, and becoming lost. I very much appreciated her lovely and gracious gesture.

As for the order in which I met the rest I can't really say, but I had lovely and warm interactions with the lovely @ameliabartlett and @hobotang, with @michaeldavid and his amazing young son Eldon, with @papacrusher and @instructor2121 -- and the thing that struck me, through it all, is that every single person I met struck me as someone I would choose to befriend and get to know in any other setting, @thealliance or no.

And I know I'm probably leaving someone out, but trust me, there is not a single person I would have left out of the meetup. Every single person there brought great insight and energy, and we would have been the poorer without their presence.

Again, we are as a group far from an echo chamber, we are all individuals with our own ideas and strong opinions, but as @enginewitty and @papacrusher have said in their own previous posts, it felt less like meeting a group of strangers and far more like a homecoming.

My thanks again to @enginewitty for starting the group and bringing us all together, to @michaeldavid for being a part of the inspiration, and for everyone for being your own awesome selves, intelligent, interesting, thoughtful, and frequently hilarious.

And to @sircork, @ameliabartlett and @hobotang, thanks for bringing your dogs, who were awesome in their own right. They gave great companionship to Lolo, showed Truffle even more that there are truly nice dogs in the world, though truthfully she's already pretty much unafraid of dogs, and just helped to give the place an even greater vibe. Dogs are the best.

And thanks to everyone for being so sweet to Truffle, who blossomed with all the love and great vibes surrounding her, even if she was a tad less than thrilled with the long ride to get there and home again. ;-)

Even though I was only able to stay for a short time, having just started a new job, I am very grateful for the time I was able to spend, and for the friendships made in the process. I am very much looking forward to future meetups . . . including, potentially, Chattanooga and Colorado!

And I promise to bring more great food, cool instruments, and hickory liqueur. ;-)

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art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics

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