A hula hoop is a fitting metaphor for what is and what isn’t within my control. My hula hoop is large, sturdy, and does not easily bend. I carry it with me all day, every day. It reminds me that I do have a personal space that is mine to manage. However, on the outside of my hula hoop, clinging to it ferociously, are grief, pain, anxiety, sadness, and regret. They are always hanging around at the edges of my hula hoop.
I attend Al-Anon meetings because sharing there helps me find a balance so I can stand strong from my own center. If I fall away from meetings, I lose my core strength, and the negative emotions can reach in to pinch me, trip me, or smack me upside my head. It is not easy to keep balance inside the hula hoop, but my friends in the fellowship remind me at every meeting of some of the tools I can use to keep me upright and moving forward.
By Cecelia P.
The Forum, April 2025
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