My daughter will be the first to tell you I’m not very good at communicating. Sometimes it’s a fear of saying something that will cause upset. I come from a family who didn’t air grievances out loud. We avoided arguments like the plague, so things just never got said. The air was never cleared.

There are times I’ve been given the opportunity to say something, and I have just been struck dumb, and chose not to have a voice. The fear of saying something and causing irreparable damage is insurmountable ~ once something is said you can’t take it back.

However, without communicating, how do we connect with other people?

Recently I read “To feel alive we need to feel connected...to feel connected is to feel alive” (source unknown)

Once people get to know me I’m quite a friendly person, but making that first connection can be an ordeal in itself. Very often when amongst a new group of people I will just quietly observe, and not always engage, unless spoken to. Sometimes this can be misconstrued as rudeness, being snobby - but instead it’s just plain shyness and my defence barriers are up. Those that know me are often surprised when I say I’m an introvert - if you think I’m an extrovert it’s because I’m in disguise.

A few years ago, one Saturday, I made myself go to a Stitchery social day, not knowing a single person who would be there. Believe you me, I was a bag of nerves.

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