Chris Grosso was one of the keynote speakers at the NYS Recovery Conference. Mr. Grosso wears many hats. He is a person in Recovery, an author, speaker, musician, and works with youth/young people in Recovery. During the Recovery Conference, Chris spoke about how learning to love himself has been monumental in his Recovery Journey. He described loving kindness as an ongoing lesson he continues to grapple with. Chris has integrated his knowledge of many different faiths and spiritual practices to create exercises people in Recovery can use in their daily lives.
Chris’ presentation style matches his unique approach to spirituality. He took time to pause in the middle of his speech in silent gratitude for having the opportunity to be surrounded by other members of the Recovery Community at the conference. He then led the room in a group meditation where we focused on sending loving kindness to ourselves and others.
The recording above is a conversation Chris and I had following the NYS Recovery Conference. Please press play to listen. Our talk includes a deeper discussion about spirituality and self-care in the Recovery Community. We also had a few side bar conversations about pop culture. We were scheduled for 30 minutes, but Chris graciously extended our time to talk. I would normally edit some of these things out to refine our conversation. However, the main point Chris and I arrived at in our discussion is that we, as humans, are implicitly messy. Sometimes, it is the broken, un-linear parts of our lives and ourselves that help us have genuine connection with others. In that spirit, (although I shortened the length of the recording) I left the recording as it is and hope there is use in its’ broken edges.
Many thanks to Chris for a meaningful conversation.
Shana Kaplanov
Development & Communications Manager
FOR-NY