We Found the Place Where Sorrow and the “Ache for Home” can Finally be Relieved – Step 6

Person in hoodie view the city at sunset from far above on a cliff

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” – Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014) U.S. poet laureate

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Where have you felt at home lately,  and felt spiritually recharged, whether in a meeting or someplace else that warms your heart?

OR

Why do people feel stronger when they share their pain with others?

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Maya Angelou Brief Bio (4:17)

Coming Home Diddy feat. Skylar Grey  (3:55)

Karunesh – Coming Home Meditation (6:28)

English Analysis

In As Bill Sees It, Bill Wilson presents recovery as a humble “spiritual kindergarten.” His phrase suggests that adults begin again with the innocence of children. This idea reflects Aristotle’s notion in Nicomachean Ethics that virtue requires practice and repetition. Wilson reminds us that people relearn how to live without alcohol. They rebuild basic trust in themselves and others through shared humility.

Transitioning to The Basic Text, the words stress the healing role of meetings. Meetings reduce fear by offering companionship and recognition of shared suffering. This recalls Viktor Frankl’s message in Man’s Search for Meaning: healing comes when pain meets shared purpose. Frankl believed meaning grows from connections, even in despair. Thus, meetings become both medicine and mirror.

Finally, Maya Angelou’s insight about home expands the idea of belonging. She names a deep need: a safe place where identity remains unquestioned. Her words echo Martin Buber’s philosophy in I and Thou. Buber stressed that human life finds fullness through authentic encounter. Angelou and Buber show that home is not just shelter but relation.

Together, Wilson, Frankl, and Angelou remind us that community heals wounds of isolation. Meetings serve as wombs of rebirth where fear gives way to grace. Belonging transforms despair into hope, because to be seen is to be renewed.


Spanish Translation

Citas

“Solo estamos
dirigiendo un jardín
de infancia espiritual en
el que las personas pueden
superar la bebida y encontrar
la gracia para seguir viviendo
con mejor efecto.” (As Bill Sees It, p. 95)


“Las reuniones fortalecen
nuestra recuperación.
Podemos tener miedo al principio
porque no conocemos a nadie.”
“Sin embargo, cuando sufrimos,
vamos a una reunión y encontramos alivio.”
(The Basic Text, p. 44)


“El anhelo de
hogar vive en todos
nosotros, el lugar seguro
donde podemos ir tal
como somos y no
ser cuestionados.”

– Maya Angelou (1928-2014),
poeta laureada de EE. UU.


Análisis

En As Bill Sees It, Bill Wilson presenta la recuperación como un “jardín de infancia espiritual.” Su frase sugiere que los adultos comienzan de nuevo con la inocencia de los niños. Esta idea refleja la noción de Aristóteles en Ética a Nicómaco de que la virtud requiere práctica y repetición. Wilson recuerda que las personas reaprenden a vivir sin alcohol. Reconstruyen la confianza básica en sí mismos y en otros con humildad compartida.

Pasando a The Basic Text, las palabras destacan el papel sanador de las reuniones. Las reuniones reducen el miedo ofreciendo compañía y reconocimiento del sufrimiento compartido. Esto recuerda el mensaje de Viktor Frankl en El hombre en busca de sentido: la sanación llega cuando el dolor encuentra propósito compartido. Frankl creía que el sentido surge de las conexiones, incluso en la desesperación. Así, las reuniones se convierten en medicina y espejo.

Finalmente, la visión de Maya Angelou sobre el hogar amplía la idea de pertenencia. Ella nombra una necesidad profunda: un lugar seguro donde la identidad no se cuestione. Sus palabras evocan la filosofía de Martin Buber en Yo y Tú. Buber afirmó que la vida humana encuentra plenitud en el encuentro auténtico. Angelou y Buber muestran que el hogar no es solo refugio, sino relación.

Juntos, Wilson, Frankl y Angelou nos recuerdan que la comunidad cura las heridas del aislamiento. Las reuniones sirven como vientres de renacimiento donde el miedo da paso a la gracia. La pertenencia transforma la desesperación en esperanza, porque ser visto es renovarse.

Pregunta: ¿Por qué las personas se sienten más fuertes cuando comparten su dolor con otros?

Zonr blog on home

Comments

10 responses to “We Found the Place Where Sorrow and the “Ache for Home” can Finally be Relieved – Step 6”

  1. Elexi W.S.A. Avatar

    I think when we put things on the table that others can relate to we start sharin’ a common bond to make us more resilient, and stronger.

  2. Eli🌱🫶🏾🫡🪱 Avatar
    Eli🌱🫶🏾🫡🪱

    There is a place inside of me that is safe for me to go to. During breaks from work, while on the bus, before sleeping- these are times I can pay it a visit. Other people, of course, can be safe places too. But like Maya suggests, I am the one I will always live with.

  3. Sabrina J Avatar
    Sabrina J

    I have lived all over, including Munich Germany and Alaska. Los Angeles is one of, if not the most at home I have felt. While I do not have any direct ancestral connections to LA, there is something about the community of LA that feels like home to me. For which I am very grateful. The diversity of communities, industry, lifestyles, environments fits with the diversity of me as a person. As the song says, I love L.A.

    Thank you for sharing recovery with me. Grateful.

  4. E-Dawg Avatar
    E-Dawg

    This disease has always made me feel special separated and alone even while going to meetings. However, seeing that there is over 3,000 meetings a day in this big city gives me more options more choices. So I have found meetings that I feel comfortable in. I also go to some fire relief Gatherings and we share our stories together…I’m feeling a little bit more at home now with my meetings…they’re are a big part of my life now… there is no doubt that sharing my experience strength and Hope with people at my meetings and in my sober living house gives me the strength to make it through another day
    Thankyou Art House

  5. Ari L Avatar
    Ari L

    I’ve finally gotten back into school and I think the campus is a place where I have a sense of home. And that sense is very anchoring, and I’m glad the home is a place of enrichment. For a while I felt at home all over, but have suffered from ptsd and hardly feel safe out and about. So, having a place like my campus is a great change 🙂

  6. Adam Avatar
    Adam

    Just having someone remember my name is enough sometimes. I also like seeing the same faces each week. It gives me a sense of community. It’s also nice when I have events going on in my life and people will remember and ask how thats going. Or I as them the same.

  7. Jon G. Avatar
    Jon G.

    I was sitting in a participation meeting the other night and nobody wanted to share. So I shared. A guy sitting next to me who has a lot more time than me appeared to not like what I shared. After I shared, he leaned over to me and said “Why don’t you come to this meeting more often…you always have something good to share.” That made me feel at home and showed me that I really do not know what others are thinking.

  8. Margo Avatar
    Margo

    Thank you for this common place to come and share in…share in sorrow, share in doubt, share in hope and share in love. I know my mother who transitioned three years aqo is welcoming her newest little visitors today, making sure they have a warm place to sleep, a cup of cocoa, and a bedtime story. I know they are received with love.

  9. Margot E. Avatar
    Margot E.

    Home is not always a physical place; it is the urge and craving in us to belong. I need to know my tribe; I need to know that they are there. And in return, I must also let you know that this a safe place to which we both can return.

  10. Margot E. Avatar
    Margot E.

    Home is where when you have to go, they have to take you back.

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