Wednesday, June 13th, 2007, 12:45pm
(sitting at Sea-Tac airport)
It occurred to me, as I stood on the ferry from Kingston to Edmonds, WA, that my trip to the 2007 California HSP Gathering was going to be “by land, by sea, and by air.” For some reason, the phrase "trains, planes and automobiles" kept running through my head.
It has been a while since I have been to an HSP Gathering, and not because I haven’t wanted to go. But somehow, “something” always seemed to come up-- bad timing, lack of money, moving across the country. As a result, I feel like I have grown somewhat “apart” from my fellow HSPs, and that disconnect has resulted in my feeling a certain void, in my life.
Going back to Walker Creek Ranch (near Petaluma, CA) feels more like a “reunion” than anything, even though I am not at all sure whether anyone I know is going to be there. I do know some people I have crossed paths with in Cyberspace will be there, and it will be nice to put faces with names that previously have just been text on the screen. And I do know of at least one friend who will be joining the Gathering on Saturday, and I am looking forward to seeing her again.
This year-- and thus this Gathering-- marks my “10th Anniversary.” More specifically, it has been ten years since I was first able to put a “name” on something I had been living with-- and felt mystified and occasionally distressed by-- for all of my life. You see, it was 10 years ago that I first came across a book entitled “The Highly Sensitive Person,” by Dr. Elaine Aron.
There are some things I have learned, during that decade-- many of them to do with what might be called "honoring the HSP trait." For example, the official start of the Gathering is not until tomorrow afternoon at 3:00pm, but I am flying out a day early, so as to take the journey at a leisurely pace. It will allow me to “get close” to the retreat center, then get a good night’s rest at a nearby motel, then make a 30 minute drive that will get me to Walker Creek Ranch “fresh” for the day’s proceedings. I have tried getting up at 5:00am, getting on a bus, then a plane, and then trying to be a “Human Being” at 3:00pm, on top of 8-10 hours of travel. Such a schedule does not work well for me, and I want to get the most out my days spent among HSPs.
Similarly, I am going to take an extra day-and-a-half on the closing end of the Gathering… so as to be able to “decompress” and “re-assimilate” slowly, after four days of “quiet time.” That, once again, would be an example of what is meant by “Honoring the HSP Trait.”
To most HSPs, the thought of voluntarily going and spending four days with a group of (probably) complete strangers most likely sounds wildly counterintuitive, and bordering on insanity. After all, the thought of “groups” is tantamount to instant overstimulation for most of us.
I certainly remember the first time I was heading off to a Gathering, thinking that I was going to end up thoroughly regretting my impulsive decision. I was nervous, as I sat at the Austin airport, waiting. The other typical thought is: "I'll end up being too strange/out there even for a group of HSPs. I'll never fit in."
