Hello and Thank You.

Hello, I wish to thank you all for inviting me into Brigadoon. I know that change can be uncomfortable. I hope that I fit in smoothly without too many rough edges to be honed.

Life is continually changing. Although we may not see it, each item in our daily lives is slightly different from the way it was the day before. The floor shifts ever so slightly, as the timbers dry out and age. This causes the flooring to change as well, pulling away from the wall here, buckling just a bit there. Then the furniture that is on the floor undergoes a subtle shift. Drawers open with more resistance, items gather on one side more often. One day one goes to pull on the drawer, and stubs the fingers into the furniture because the muscle memory has not adjusted to the ever-so-slow change.

These changes are easier to cope with than sudden changes; coming home to find that the furniture has been re-arranged or is missing. Those changes are breathtaking due to the suddeness of occurance. Changes that are unexpected are the most difficult to cope with for there is no structure fall back on, no habits that can be relied upon. No longer can one come home and throw the keys and assorted mail on the table that no longer is in "it's place." So one must stop and think about what to do next, where to place stuff, and how to remember where it is placed. This disrupts the entire home-coming experience, and it can be difficult to regain equilibrium through the evening.

Each of us experiences change in our own way. Habits are hard to break, be they habits of thought or of behavior. But habits can be binding. Living in habitual worlds can limit the ability to cope with change, to be creative with thought processes. I find that I need to go the extra step, to try something new once in a while so that I can grow. It is important to me to grow, to adapt to the world that is changing around me.

And by accepting me into your group, you have begun a growth pattern as well. For my thoughts are not known to you. We become comfortable with the predictibility that surrounds us. Each of us needs predictibility in our worlds, but also a bit of change.

I look forward to meeting you all and to growing with you.