Day 66, Sept 4, Charleston, SC.
Today, Saturday, my brother Stewart Sanders, sister-in-law Sara Sanders, and sister Susannah Winiski joined Beth and me on the final walk to the ocean to complete the cross-country portion of InJoelSteps. Their presence was a blessing beyond measure. Later we went to the Angel Oak on John’s Island, a 400 year old, wise and wondrous evergreen, deliriously asymmetric, richly wending and creatively dancing with its branches in all directions. A glorious blooming of individuality that makes me think of the potential within each of us for expression on the other side of the storms of life. The Angel Oak is one of the posted photos. Another is a picture of me in a 19th c. 7x7x7’ jail in Monticello, UT representing the imprisonment of addiction. Our journey west to east through the heart of the country represented the passage from behind the prison bars of addiction to the creative freedom of the Angel Oak.
Your presence these last 2 months by following, giving, responding, commenting, sharing, story-telling, and encouraging has been integral to its progression. Thank you. InJoelSteps continues now as a writing, video, and storytelling and collection project to educate and change hearts about SUD. Community opinions and relationship connections matter. There is a beauty that only comes through brokenness.
Addiction is a treatable brain disease that disables decision-making, and stigma handicaps its treatment and prevention.
In honor of Joel Kenneth Sanders
11/28/1990 - 4/18/2019
InJoelSteps.com
