Accepting what is was a large part of this past weekend at Rowe. Primarily, that all of us are different, but there are ways that my differences seem to sore-thumb stand out.
On Saturday, I was the only one who opted to go out for a ramble around NW Mass & SW VT rather than hang around the beautiful, cozy conference center. Not that long ago, wouldn't have extended the invitation to come too. Alas, the rest chose to stay. It was glorious, driving trim mountainish roads (sorry - the Sierras are mountains; New England has stunning foot hills), the wild beauty of the Deerfield River's rapids, enjoying seeing snow without hazardous road conditions. I loved every moment, even alone.
Realizing another difference was weirdly assuring. It's hardly news that something about me can be get-under-your-skin irksome to a stunning number of others. On our third day, Nancy captured in one sentence what I've felt from others my whole life - "You are so smart & perceptive & gifted, I'd dislike you, if I didn't know your vulnerabilities." YES! Oh, to hear my funky reality spoken out loud!
Perhaps the strangest difference between me & everyone else participating in the writing workshop is that I am the only one who blogs. Nancy's blog is part of her website, but I didn't get the impression she revels in writing it; she's probably more attuned to paper & ink than keyboard & computer screen.
It set me back on my heels that not a single other soul there blogs. At all. Once again - there I was, doing something that seems to me as natural as breathing & no one else was doing it. Some even looked at me with undisguised horror. "Why," one asked, "Would you blog rather than journal?"
Instead of feeling crushed & bleeding at ONCE AGAIN feeling set apart where I'd expected to be part of the norm, a peaceful acceptance swept over me, an ease with feeling wholly who I am, even when it seems somewhat skewed from the rest of my fellow humans.
Lesson learned this past weekend: Everyone is different - for some reason, my differences are more visible. Get over it, get on.
Credits:
1) Rowe Conference Center
2) PugetSoundBirds.org
3) wdfa.wa.gov
4) itsokaytobesmart.com
Oh, what a gloriously generous Universe! To have one of my photos be from a blog called It's Okay To Be Smart - how over-the-top sublime for describing a gift from this past week - never ever ever ever being allowed to slight my own intelligence! Thank you, fabulous Universe, for the perfect finishing touch!
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