Heat Rain Progress

The heat in Europe has been unbearable for many. I was told many years ago don’t go out in the hottest part of the day, close the windows and shutters and drink plenty of water. It made me feel like Mogwai from the movie Gremlins, apart from the water bit. Temperatures have hit over 40C and the investment in trees and bushes to create an intimate safe space has been looking dubious. Grass is brittle now underfoot and perhaps I have cut it short one too many times before the real heat had kicked in. Yesterday I had to drive to Montpeillier which is a 2.5 hour drive. That would be fine except my car has no aircon and in 38C ( approx 100F) it begins to get a bit warm. The open windows make the air drum on the ears so I was well tired by the time I arrived at my destination only to find I had to wait another 5 hours due to a missed train.

I have chosen to invest in hoses and connections for the tap in the cellar. My 3.500 litres of water tanks are empty. I need more tanks for next year apparently. A neighbour promised me water is not as expensive in Nice, but regardless, I can’t keep investing in Trees and watching them die.

The mens weekend went off well and I am delighted to have been able to provide a step one in a meaningful setting. I also ended up with a short term pathfinder who came for a 8 days. We worked through the first 3 steps of the program and it was good. There was a remarkable change in attitude for the good.

It seems more and more people are gradually hearing about The Healing Path and wanting to check it out. I am considering my model. Is it possible or even healthy to provide ‘free’ recovery? I have something that sticks in my throat when I see how rehabs charge thousands of euros or dollars for recovery and wonder how an addict or alcoholic can come up with that sort of money. This is not a question about money being good or evil. There is something deeper, much deeper.

First of all, from what I can gather it’s usually family or friends that have to fork out and pay the bill. Haven’t they paid enough through the suffering we cause our friends and family in our active substance use disorder?

Secondly we in the West live in a very moneycentric society, so much so that intelligent people are incapable of imagining anything else other than money and profit. There must be more to this life. As I often say, I don’t see any other life form on planet earth worrying about income, interest rates, profits or rewards. We are ego and fear driven and the result is a society that is extremely unbalanced.

Third I am aware that I am still a member of that society, so some concessions to my idealism have to made. Is there not enough people out there with enough to share it with those who are suffering so we can rehabilitate their self esteem and turn them into decent bill paying human beings?

What I do know, is that they way of life here works. My first pathfinder is celebrating a year sober this week. That’s vindication enough. As in all things that I don’t have a clear understanding of, or a quick answer for, I have found if I wait, more gets revealed and more is bestowed.

The heat will pass.

The seasons will change.

For the moment I walk in gratitude, a little earlier than normal, but still grateful.

Last nights storm has cooled down the air a little. It will get hot again.

Thanks for reading, Leave a thought or comment below.

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My Sober Journey

June 16, 2026