Staying Centered Away from Community

During the months of November and December our poetry society chapter elected to meet once a month rather them twice a month as usual. 

It's not that I haven been writing, but it seems the result of this reduction in meetings has left me feeling a little off balance or something.  These interactions with other writers would seem to have a centering effect on what I am doing. 

I'm wondering if others that participate in group meetings with other poets/writers or any other arts related community find that such meetings provide a grounding or other beneficial impact on their work, to the extent that their absence over a period of time leaves them feeling some kind of tangible loss to their vocation or avocation.

If you've experienced something similar I'd me interested in hearing about it. Am I the odd one here or is this common?

If you've feel this same kind of impact to lack of contact with your own writing community, what kinds of things have you found to compensate for it's impact upon your own work?

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