When my husband and I were in our first years of sobriety, we were active in the sober communities of AA, Alanon and Recovery Dharma. But as we moved into a more complex relationship in our recovery, we both were looking for something else.
I am not knocking any of these communities. We still participate in them, but we were looking for a new support network that was going to take us on a different path. For me, I was draw to the use of art in recovery, especially after losing my mom in 2021. Art allowed me to express myself in ways I had no words for and /or express thoughts and ideas that I had no idea where they came from. The messages were not of me. I craved more of that.
Finding sober communities that were more specific for our interests was challenging. The groups I did find died over the pandemic. This wasn't just sober art groups, but sober running groups, sober book clubs.. you name it.
That's when it occurred to me that I was going to have to start my own sober community. So, with a 'sober sister' of mine, we did. It is called The Wild Spirit Community. This community focuses on recovery (however that word is defined by the individual) through the lense of archetypes (patterns) and getting acquainted with your 'unfiltered' self. We have art circles, music circles and one day a retreat.
I say all of this to encourage you to find your community in the sobriety world. If you can't find one, create it... because we need community to do this work.