Gatherings
Usually organized, many of us choose to “gather” with loved ones, old friends, or join groups or organizations to meet and gather with new people.
What is it about you, that makes you want to change a familiar daily plan and arrive somewhere around people you may not see very often or may not have current relationships with? Funny, aren’t we?
For many unknown reasons we want to see and be seen, to share ourselves and be shared with, to enjoy new personal scenery. So often we just can’t get enough of the people we come in contact with. We find ourselves at a gathering and even if we kind of regretted the thought that we said we would attend, the time flows, the end draws near and we wish there was still more time to talk. We enjoyed it more than we thought we would.
We might feel melancholy or a bit sad that we didn’t get to hear all we wanted or share at a deeper level. We usually tell ourselves that there will be a “next time” yet often fear that the time will pass and just maybe it won’t be the same when we meet again.
Our family members will age. Friends move on with their lives without us in them. We want to be more important to someone than we might ever be. Some times distance and proximity affects our ability to get closer, to “add on” to a relationship that existed differently beforehand.
Expectations. How do your expectations of yourself and of others affect what you bring to a gathering? We can tell ourselves that “everyone” wants to see one person and fear that no one is interested in us. Insecurity can build and keep us from moving toward those we really want to connect with. When we do gather with those we have known, they do know our “core”, what we are really made of. Our past experiences with them come to draw us closer or more distant. Some times we may hear, “I never knew that they were that funny” or “I never knew them and I enjoyed them” or “I wonder why I never got close to them”. Gatherings allow us opportunities to celebrate each other, even if we gather for a sad reason. Celebrate.
