A few moments for reflection... Monday, June 18th
So now I sit at my HSP friend's house, doing my best to “process” these past few days’ events, and trying to decompress a little. I am grateful that I have made a habit of taking extra time on both the front and back end of the retreat. Gatherings are emotionally intense events for HSPs-- afterwards I feel a bit like I used to feel after very loud concerts, back in college: There is a ringing “white noise” in my ears… except, after a Gathering, the ringing white noise is in my spirit and psyche. Even though it is both a "good" and "positive" feeling, fact remains that "HSP Overstimulation" is a very real thing-- no matter how much "practice" I have at being an HSP.
My first thought-- which seems to be remarkably consistent from Gathering to Gathering-- is genuine amazement at the degree to which these events are life-transforming for the attendees. I say this not just as an HSP, but also as a jaded self-growth workshop junkie who often feels like he has “seen it all.”
HSPs who attend a Gathering come away changed; transformed. For most, the transformation is the result of experiencing validation and total acceptance of their essential self, often for the first time in their lives. First time “Gatherers” come to learn; veteran Gatherers come primarily for the fellowship; both come for the opportunity to-- in the words of one long-term participant-- be able to “let their shields down.” The mixed format of workshops and social activities make it possible for newcomers and "veterans" alike to come away with postive feelings and experiences.
C.G. Jung once wrote “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Somehow, this quote epitomizes what happens when HSPs meet each other.
And what could be better than that?
Every Gathering is a little different, and I bring away different memories and impressions each time. Above all, it is the people I take with me. People who become friends; people with whom I will remain in touch, even though we live 100s, or 1000s, of miles apart. And sometimes there are surprises... a connection that transcends "ordinary" friendship (not that there is anything "ordinary" about making a friend) and becomes "something more." The 2007 California Gathering offered me such a surprise.
Just DO it!
I don’t really have any great words of wisdom to close on. I have only one suggestion for you: Get yourself to an HSP Gathering! Make it your priority; eliminate the “I can’ts” and "but what ifs" from your mind, and just do it.
I can appreciate your possible hesitance. It might be about attending a “group” event. After all, many of us have had unpleasant experiences with groups. I feel fairly safe in saying that you can throw any impressions of what it is like to “be in a group” right out the window. Groups of HSPs are... well... different. Perhaps you see yourself as “too odd” to fit in. You will find that the very reason everyone is there tends to be because they have felt like oddballs, much of their lives. Some of us are a bit odd... but the answer isn't to stop being odd, but to find a place where it is OK to be a little out of the ordinary.
An HSP Gathering may be just such a place.
