President’s Message for May 2010

Well, I am just back from a wonderful weekend at GMT. For those of you who may not know GMT is Gay Men Together and the run a retreat weekend twice per year up in West Gardner Maine (take that left at Albuquerque and go about 4000 miles north, only kidding) but I will tell you that it is well worth the three hours from our house to get there.

GMT weekends start off with an Opening Circle to basically welcome everyone to the weekend and begin your journey for the weekend. We always go up on Thursday before the "Program" starts for the weekend, this gives us the most about of time to be able to enjoy it there.

The feeling during the weekend is unbelievable ~ it's love, friendship, bonding, community and so much more than I can put into words . . . . . it's just . . . right.

Every time I go to GMT I come away learning something new, sometimes it's something fun and exciting and sometimes it's just different. This time leaving I learned that there is a friendship and bond that is formed at GMT with everyone there, some of it very close some not so. My bond with Paul this time was one that I think enhanced our relationship enough to make it to the top ten list.

One of the things that was mentioned during the closing circle was about taking what we have and create at GMT back to the 'Real World' and living that way together so it's even a little more like GMT, what a wonderful World it's going to be with that change.

Utopia ~ A name for an ideal community or society. Ok while I understand that this is a fictional place I truly believe that for gay men, GMT is the closest that at least I have every experienced.

I left this retreat so emotionally drained and charged at the same time that I was still tearing up every now and then on the way home.

This weekend I learned that I AM my Mothers child and I know with the energy and love that comes from everyone at GMT I can overcome this and truly become my own self and share to help my communitity become a better place for all of us.

If there is anyway you can get to a GMT weekend, you WILL enjoy it.

Thank you,

Bill