I had an activity that I started in sobriety.....years ago I hunted birds with a friend of my Dad's bird dog.....

in sobriety when I came home from Guam at four years sober I bought a bird dog and sent him to bird dog school at a hunting club....I also got a second bird dog that did not need to go to school she was a rescue Vizsla that was already hunting with its former owner....

so in sobriety I re-visited my days as a bird hunter and I did a few years of hunting out there in woods and fields....I even leased hunting land at $1000 yr to hunt land that I did not own...

When I first began attending AA meetings, shortly after I finished counseling and outpatient treatment, my luck had changed dramaticly. God was doing for me,, what I couldn't do for myself and it happened far too often to be called coincidence, This is Promise # 12 of the AA 12 Promises.

I wanted to find out more about what was going on, so I began reading every spiritual book I could find. I read the acim texts and did the lessons, and read many books connected to it, such as Disappearance of the Universe, Absense fro Felicity, and all of Tina Spaulding's books.....I've also read most of the Emanual books and the books of Dolorus Cannon and I meditate as often as I have time for.

~~~Peace~~~

Like Bob, I took up exploring different options of spirituality. They have given me a beautiful sense of peace & help me to stay sober.

very cool. for me, being deep in a national forest, off the grid and miles from the nearest community is a spiritual commune with my higher power as well.

All my passions were already there but, while I was drinking, they didn’t have the passion lol. So, for me, it was getting to know myself on a level that had eluded me most of my life. I am really happy with who I am now and that’s just changing everything. I’m in New England so the White Mountains are my hiking/camping place. Baxter and Acadia NPs in Maine too. I’m surrounded by state parks with about 6000 acres of hiking in my backyard so that’s what I do almost every day. My garden has been huge and so productive the last 3 years as well. Enough food to share and get me through the whole year.
Enjoy your hikes!!! I’ve been in the high Sierras and Cascades and the redwood forests along the coast. Love the west but am partial to the ancient energy of the Appalachians.

thanks for sharing finallyawake. sounds like you are in the heart of some beautiful country for camping, whereas living in southeast Michigan, I am forced to take to the highways and head north or west to find my favorite spots. would like to get to Acadia sometime for sure..

I love camping in the desert near my home. The night sky is incredible and I love to hear the coyotes so close. When I was drinking I just quit doing all the fun things. I’m up to my eyeballs in work and soon it will be too hot to go to the desert. After April it’s a furnace. So maybe this fall/winter. I still have the high country as on option though.... :o)

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!