Dear fellow growers

News-flash: your country needs you. We are living through tumultuous times in Ireland, and what GROW has to offer is more badly needed that every. In his book “The Healing Road” Harvey Wasserman says that “as a culture goes through transformation, as the behaviours and values of the past, as the beliefs of the past are no longer valid, no long describe and fit the present the culture dies and in the death depression is rampant . . . . Do any of you know of a culture in Europe where something like this is happening now? IRELAND”.

In order to help make GROW relevant to an Ireland that is in danger of losing it’s unique identity, GROW’s National Program Team has given the go-ahead for a new book to supplement the Red & Yellow books. It is envisaged that the book would consist of commentary and anthology on the 12 Steps.

We need growers to submit Leaders Papers on the varied ingredients that together make GROW work. Examples could be:
- the importance of empathy/listening in a Grow meeting.
- the role of practical tasks.
- challenging undergrowers.
- good and bad 12th Step Work (in the age of mobile phones).
I am sure there are many other topics that need to be addressed – please give us your ideas.

We also need growers (and members of the public) to submit extracts from books that reflect Grow’s ethos. Writers that spring to mind are Scott Peck, Susan Jeffers, Viktor Frankl – let us know of other gems that need to reach a wider audience.

There are topics that Grow literature does not deal with sufficiently. Examples would be:
- forgiveness of self & others.
- sexuality (accepting our sexuality, overcoming sexual abuse)
- the importance of gratitude and tolerance for our mental health.
- manic depression (learning how to better manage our mood swings).
- celebrating my uniqueness (having the courage to explore our potential).
Any other topics you can think of? We are looking for both leaders Papers and extracts from relevant books to explore these subjects.

I would like to finish with another quote from Harvey Wasserman’s book. In his epilogue he writes: “in the past, the long-distant past, Ireland has had a primary place in the spiritual and mystical journey of mankind. If Ireland, as it moves toward Europe and the Western world, loses it spiritual and mystical centre, lose its soul, Ireland will become a strife-ridden cardboard copy of Europe and the Western world. If Ireland, as it moves toward Europe and the Western world, keeps and enhances its spiritual and mystical centre, keeps its soul, then Ireland will once more become the teacher of the western world”. Let’s hope that GROW in its own humble, unique way can make a meaningful contribution, not just to the well being of Ireland, but also to Europe.

If you have any ideas/queries on the above, please contact John Rice or Mike Watts at the GROW Office, Barrack Street, Kilkenny (Tel: 056-7761624/7751615).