I was just wondering where you guys have gotten/found your avatars...I'm trying to pick a new one and I just can't seem to find the right one.

Mine is a photo that a friend of mine took when I was 21 in 1978. He was a professional photographer. In 1991 my friend had a bad fall, then had to have brain surgery, and since then has been in a closed group home that does not allow non-family visitors. His photo is my way of remembering Jim.

Your avatar can be anything that you want it to be, as long as it isn't offensive. You should most likely stay away from a current photo too, just for anonymity reasons. I liked that kid with the hair that you had one time, but you are free to have any avatar within reason and decent taste.

Art is good too!!!

Mark

I like the first one you ever put up.



Allen

pufferfish

My avatar is a picture of my eye. But I found some cool avatars and uploaded here if you'd like:

Nyjah,

You can change your avatar at anytime. Let it speak to something you find significant.

Mine speaks to the tremendous loss of my dolphins.

Brian

McCormick,

What fun! Thank you.

Allen

pufferfish

Hi again Nyj..........how you been?

I chose my first avatar and I'm sticking with it until the endtimes. I figure that the lurkers and the members find comfort with familiarity, so I give it to them. Never changing, always there, just me, at 5 or 6 years old.........

Hah...are those the bumpersticks from FB? 'Cause they're hilarious.

I dunno what to do with mine. I'm not happy with it...but I dunno what it should be.

How about this one?



Allen

pufferfish

sweet

Heh. I'm making some new ones I'm prolly gonna post up later.

there are lots out there to choose from. Mine is one of the 8 auspicious symbols from Buddhism. It has particular meaning to me, so that's why i have it...there are tons of sites out there though
allen

It's me and my boyfriend my bf is on the left, I'm on the right.

Mine is me at a couple months shy of 12yo.

mine is my favorite actor, kinda lame but ya

My son and I are in this plane when the photo was taken.

Mine is cut out from a wedding picture.




I was a 68 pound high school sophomore.

mine speaks to me in being an expression of the harmony within the whole from time immemorial unto the end of eternity. The seal of Soloman if you like, with the Alpha at the top and the Omega at the bottom...

A reminder for me to stay connected to my source and stay in harmony with all.

Love to each of my brothers and sisters out there..

Wes

someone asked me in a pm the other day about mine; i don't know why i didn't think to post about it before now, i guess maybe i thought it was obvious.

my response:

the cross is the cosmic symbol par excellence, representing the union of the divine [vertical] and the secular [horizontal] realms. the soft pastel colors signify the inclusive pluralism of diversity inherent in the nature of all things seen and unseen, the one in the many, and the many in the one.

now you know.

When I first found MS my avatar depicted a long and climbing country road at the end of which was a rising sun.

It was so very representative of how I was feeling at that time in my recovery. I could see in my minds eye how very much more work I still had to do (hence the long road) in order to reach my goal of leaving the darkness behind and to break out into the sunshine. A sunshine that I was blessed to always be able to see off in the distance.

Yet it seemed that the more I walked on that clearly defined road, the longer and steeper it got - oh, I could still see the sunshine, but somehow I was never getting any closer to it no matter how many steps I took.

And then, suddenly, I reached a mile marker by the side of the road that I had not seen until I was right on top of it. There was a note tacked to that marker post and it was just sort of flapping in the breeze. As I got closer, I was surprised to see that the note was addressed to me. It said:

Welcome Joël, to the club of men. You have assuredly shown courage and determination in reaching your goal but most importantly, what has brought you to this juncture is that you humbled yourself before strangers placing your trust in their innate goodness, you opened your heart, revealed your soul and admited that you needed help to become well and whole.You've been embraced, you are loved, you are respected by men who have been able to see into the real you and to like you for what they see. Through your brothers in recovery and in large part due to them, you've become the man your mother said you could never be.

That's when my avatar changed to what it is now, a man-boy on top of the world, jumping with all the vigour in his youthfull heart in spite of his old and weary bones. A new day is rising - I can finally feel the warmth of that sun I chased after for so long.

Of course Utopia is not a reality and I will now have to begin the long descent from the top of the world and for the very first time take my rightfull place amongst the living in the valley below. There is work to be accomplished there for the common good of all - I'm ready to get my hands dirty...............

Thus is me at age 7 in cub scout shirt.

Allen

pufferfish

I just like Monet.

Here I is at age 6. This was my passport photo.

My avatar is a hornet. It reminds me that the feelings of anger/fear/anxiety that I had/have are not inappropriate or wrong. They are like the instinctive response of a hornet who's nest has been disturbed. I am not the thing disturbing the nest that needs to be driven off. I am the nest that needs to be protected and nurtured. My feelings are part of that process. I don't need to react by destroying my own nest! But if someone comes around and messes with my nest/safety, lookout because I'm not a little boy anymore - now I've got the strength to keep my self and family safe and protected.

This image occurred to me when I read about a solution that someone had to the problem of a hornet's nest near the backdoor on the day he was planning a big gathering at his house. Instead of destroying the nest (and likely getting stung in the process), he put up a sheet of clear plastic. The hornets could see what was going on as people walked by, but they weren't bothered because they "knew" the people on the other side were not threatening them. So instead of punishing the hornets for reacting appropriately to a threat, he respected their response and removed the threat. That was a new and powerful perspective for me :-)

Mike

My avatar is a picture of me taken in 2nd grade by my cub scout den mother, who also was a photographer. I think I was 7 years old.

Allen

pufferfish

Hey Guys,

After 9 months here I have chosen to change my avatar and my mode of transportation. No longer will I roam the desert on my trusty camel. But now I will soar my way to happy destiny thur the great blue skies. I live not far from Edwards Air Force base.
The starting point for the stealth fighter and bomber. And western landing site for the shuttle.
As we grow we always need to update things in our lives.

Mike

.

i open up my the active topics link and what do i read for the first post of the day! what a great way to begin! thanks mike!

ron

Joel,

Yea who needs missles when you have geese.
You canadians are lucky that old george is gone or he would have bomb half of canada for putting that jet in the Hudson.

Mike

Oh great! Just what we need. Another Blame Canada thread!

Insulin, Standard time, Superman, Lorne Greene, Dan Ackroyd, Hosers, Michael J. Fox, zippers, Steve Nash, snow blowers, skidoos.

Good day and Bonne journee!

Celine Dion, Alan Thicke... oops, they are in the group with the Geese :-\

Jim Carey, Howie Mandel, Shania Twain, Nickleback.

Hugs, Wes

Hey, Joel & Geeders.

I'm too dumb in this computer age, to be able to figure out just how to take a picture of me and get onto this site. So i have a better idea. And it will not be Canada bashing.
If y'all have a picture of a Moose head (dead or alive) and you can figure out how to get it under my name. I'll forever be indebted to my Canadian friends. And i will personally apologise for my post under now ex presidents last message that when i return to Texas that i would be looking for certain state license plated cars, plus Canadian ones for road rage, in my redneck pickup truck. ha ha
Any help Canada??

Heal well my brothers/friends.

Pete (Irishmoose)

.

Mine is a picture of me when I was in first grade, about the time I was abused.

I like it, Mike!

Morning Pete:

Were those Meeses I sent you any good?

Got about 4 inches of snow yesterday. Ugh!

Jim

Hi Geeders,
I've screwed up pretty good so far. I have to try and dig them out from my deleted (by mistake) file. Joel has sent me a Moose too, and i've screwed that up too. But Joel tried another way and so far i got my Moose in my desktop. But brother Joel is a bit low right now, and he needs some cheering up. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Ha ha.

Maybe you ought to come to Texas when the tundra is frozen up in Canada.

Heal well brother Geeders.

Pete (Irishmoose)

Pete:

I've resent the meeses to you. Good luck. I like the rainbow moose of those two meeses best.

cheers.
Jim

Hi, everyone.

Well i just got my avatar, courtesy of one of my Canadian brothers and confidant. It's of a live Moose (luckily before hunting season) and before Geeders goes looking for one. ha ha

This is a picture of me, when i was about 10 years old. How can you tell the difference between an Irish Moose, and Canadian/American one???

SIMPLE.. i've got green antlers or rack. Now y'all know.

Heal well my brothers/friends.

Pete (Irishmoose)

I like it Pete.

Mine reflects my feelings right now. I wanted something other than my own face to look at every time I come in here.