Pick Up the Phone

Image credit: Photo by splorp on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons

I was struggling today with several issues that have been swimming around in my head lately: my relationship with anger and rage, the place of vulnerability in my recovery, the harsh and insidious voice of my inner critic, my past emotionally and verbally abusive relationships and the ways they led to where I am today. I started to try to work it out through journaling but couldn't wrap my head around it. After all, there are some really fascinating clouds outside my window today, and it's pretty important to me to beat the computer at this particular game of solitaire that's been plaguing me. Also, I'm hungry. Are those Girl Scout cookies still in the pantry?

Then my computer beeped at me. Oo! It's my friend Ellie wanting to chat.

Well, you know, since the writing isn't getting me anywhere, why not? Ellie is an Al-Anoner, and a few weeks ago we'd been talking on the phone about some things we are each working through in recovery, but (because we are both moms on the go) one of us had to run. She chatted me looking for contact information for a mutual friend, but of course, we drifted back to the earlier conversation, and when she had to leave the computer to pick her daughter up at school, she suggested I call her cell so we could keep talking.

I know picking up the phone and calling friends in recovery is some well known wisdom, but it's still not something I do regularly. I have a lot of reasons for that, and many of them are good and valid. But there are times, like today, when it's the best possible thing to do. I got to talk to someone who loves me and gets me, someone who is able to laugh off the inner critic I can't. I got to hear about Ellie's struggles around similar issues, which informed my own. And I got to get out of my own head for a while. It was like a spiritual breath of fresh air, and while I still don't have my head around all the issues that have been on my mind, I feel refreshed and rejuvenated enough to let them go for today.

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This post was originally published at The Second Road.