gathering IRL

There’s been a lot of focus on the blessings this time is for introverts. Yay for them.

I love slow solitude at the best of times.

During these not-so-best times though, I realise afresh that I am a people-person.

I love gatherings. I love meeting people IRL. In Real Life – capital letters.

Gosh I miss it.

I’m not such a huggy person, but I bounce off other people’s energy and body language. I talk with my hands.

Who’s with me?

I love my loved ones. They are constant and comforting. We have our ups and downs. Familiarity can breed contempt, but I don’t take family for granted. We need extra grace in our household just as much as you do. Each one in my family is precious to me.

But I MISS MY FRIENDS!

Do you?

Do you miss getting together with friends? Gathering in small groups? Bouncing ideas off each other? Understanding easily as we communicate and connect with kindred spirits.

I cannot cope with zoom. I don’t like it at all. Anyone else?

I don’t mind a one-on-one facetime call. I like talking on the phone, but I don’t do group gathering on technology. I miss the vibes. The synergy of creative people bouncing off each other and the multiplication factor of that for our own creative sparks.

I love seeing what my friends have been up to when we visit each other. Sharing projects and possibilities with ideas and inspiration. Tangible evidence.

I love workshops. I do not like learning online and piles of paperwork without interaction.  I love meeting new people and discovering new interests. Learning and growing and stretching. I love spontaneous adventures and serendipity.  I need things to look forward to in order to keep moving and motivated. I need big ideas and external pressure outside my own four walls.

I get restless and stale sometimes.  It’s a pattern I recognise as I get older. As I face that again, I feel discouraged. Is that a weakness in my personality?

I need fresh vistas to foster contentment. That sounds like a contradiction, but it’s true. Exploring new places makes me appreciate afresh where I have built my own life. Road trips stimulate our senses as they broaden our horizons and introduce us to new ideas to interpret and come home to. New ideas to translate and perhaps fold into our own lives in different ways.

Curtailing all that has been lonely, frustrating and discouraging for me personally as I face those aspects of my personality and wade through ways to deal with this and come through strong.

What has helped you over the hurdles you’ve encountered during this strange time?

What are you looking forward to when the restrictions lift?

It is so special to be welcomed into a friend’s home. 

To know your company is anticipated and prepared for. 

I visited a dear friend just before all these restrictions unfolded and felt such a heartwarming welcome as I saw her beautiful attention to detail in preparing afternoon tea for us, pictured above.

I am longing to share our beautiful autumn garden with friends. I look forward to welcoming them with a lovely tea party.

Here’s to saying ‘cheers’ with a beverage in fine china or clinking a glass of something bubbly in jolly good company.