From its inception, the Strengthening My Recovery meeting has been conscious of creating a space where members feel safe sharing their thoughts and feelings with each other. We realize what feels safe to one person may not feel safe to the next, so we listen and we shift as our awareness and understanding of the needs of the group grow.
This page is an idea of what we consider to be a space conducive to sharing and healing. We also invite you to begin to envision SMR as Brave Space and have included a wonderful poem below to gently suggest that in this meeting there is an acceptance that it won’t always be easy and we might make mistakes. There is space here for that.
Safe Space is:
Where I feel heard
Where every voice matters
Where the boundaries are clearly stated and carefully followed
Where there is no crosstalk about what I’ve shared
Where I feel accepted
Where I feel supported
Where silence is tolerated and maybe even appreciated
Where newcomers and oldtimers receive the same level of respect
Where everyone is encouraged to do service at their comfort level
Because there is no such thing as a “safe space” —
We exist in the real world.
We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds.
In this space
We seek to turn down the volume of the outside world,
We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere,
We call each other to more truth and love.
We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow.
We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know.
We will not be perfect.
This space will not be perfect.
It will not always be what we wish it to be.
But
It will be our brave space together,
and
We will work on it side by side.