The first week of January I joined a group in The Villages called Single in The Villages. They have an online calendar which lists the group’s monthly activities. I noted an entry called Singles: New Beginnings. The description read:
Singles: New Beginnings Book Study, for those ready to add new activities, routines and people to their lives. Join this twelve week course any week. Arrive ten minutes early the first week. Two spiral notebooks are needed. Time commitment: ½ -1 hour/day for doing your own journaling and written exercises.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is a popular classic self-help book. It teaches techniques and exercises to assist you in gaining self-confidence, while harnessing your creative talents and skills. Cameron believes that creativity is a spiritual practice. She places heavy emphasis on process and play rather than product and work. Cameron wants you to feel empowered and see life as a creative process.
The focus of this course is exploring how your life can evolve now. Instead of working alone, the company of like-minded people can make the difference between success and failure, hope and despair.
Bingo! It sounded like a new safe place to explore. And explore I have.
New participants, like me, were supposed arrive ten minutes early. I couldn’t locate the correct room, so I called the organizer. She directed me forward and as I walked in, I noted I was the second male attendee.
Barbara began with a welcome to several new faces and a brief overview of the class. That’s when I learned that Daryl and I were the first males to join the group. The class had been running for well over a year. It was originally intended to offer dating advice to single women. Some of the women had requested that the class be opened to men. Barbara had begun the class for women and was reluctant to allow male participants, but decided the new year could be a new beginning. Ergo, she named the class New Beginnings.
I would guess there were twelve to fourteen women in the group. Some were veterans; some were new. We took turns introducing ourselves and explaining our interest in the class. Each introduction included a description of where we were originally from. At least a third of the class is from Michigan: Detroit, Allen Park, Birmingham, Owasso, and Stanwood (that’s me).
Individuals interest in the class is varied. I listened attentively to each one. The common thread was each is looking for something new. I was the last to speak and I said something like this.
“I had shoulder surgery last September. I published a book a year ago and decided to use my recuperation time to record an audio version. One of my closets was my studio. As I read my words aloud, I discovered that I’ve offered a lot of advice over the past seven years, but I don’t follow it. I lost my wife two years ago, and I need to follow it.”
I’ve attended six classes. Daryl’s only made three. As the weeks have passed others have joined. When we met last week there was about 60 – 40 split women to men. As the number of men has increased the discussion has changed a bit. Men operate from a different point of view than women. I appreciate hearing it all. I think everybody does. There’s a “what’s said in the room stays in the room” rule. I’ve honored it. I believe the others have as well.
We’re all in the same boat but have arrived for varied reasons. I don’t know the divorce to death split, and I don’t think anyone’s been single forever. The common bond is everyone’s looking for a new beginning.
My eyes are open.
Editor’s note: If you read this on my website rather than the Facebook link, I’ve posted four audio stories. You may have read the stories before, but I think hearing them is different than reading them. I plan to add a couple each month. Maybe more.