sinisterporpoise

 The LARP crew waved me into the Denny’s tables on that early Sunday morning. I had arrived several minutes later than the rest of the group. As I sat down, I looked at the menu and prepared my order. After the waitress arrived with our drinks, I apologized for my tardiness. I informed the table that I would have arrived sooner if I had not forgotten where I had parked.  I blinked as the person sitting across from me said, “That’s common in our world.” My brain did not process what this information until I saw her wince and heard her utter a pained expression.  I realized she meant the world of fibromyalgia sufferers. This incident happened two weeks ago, but I still remember it.  It provided a starting point for a line of thought.

Her statement caused me to realize we enter new worlds all the time. Sometimes we rush into these new worlds willingly. Other times, we enter them with reluctance or have it forced upon them. Most of the time, we enter new worlds without ever noticing the change.  The changes come slowly, gradually. We accept the small changes as we come. After years of these little changes, we may wonder what happened to the places we used to know so well. 

Hundreds of variations exist. The world that existed when you were younger does not exist today, for example. Another one says, “You can never cross the same river twice.”  All of these attempt to express one idea. Our worlds, or our universes if you prefer, change constantly. The boldest of us wade into these new universes without hesitation.  Most of us cannot do this. We try to keep things as comfortable as possible for us, without realizing how futile a task this ultimately is.