Good morning my deep
digging earth babies!
So, here I am this
morning, sitting in a hacienda suite, sipping Peet's French Roast Coffee, and
reflecting on life and relationships.
I am actually always
reflective about, well, pretty much everything. The problem is that I'm
highly sensitive and when there is too much of certain types of stimuli, my
brain gets overloaded and cannot reflect or process. A bit of cognitive
paralysis sets in. This often happens in relationships as the type of
stimuli that I feel the most intensely is that which emits from other people.
I have been seeking out
information to help me understand more fully, the extent to which sensitivities
affect me individually as well as in the relationships I have and what steps I
can take to make needed changes and improve.
One of the articles I
came across has a list of 10 traits that empathic people share, many of which
have resonated deeply with me. I would like to discuss each of these over
the course of my next several blog entries as I try to understand and share
what I am learning about myself.
So, let's begin with the
first trait:
1. Empaths are highly sensitive.
I suppose this kind of
goes without saying but it's important to note because often, empaths are
labeled as highly sensitive from a negative perspective. We are subjected
to phrases like, "You're SO sensitive!”, “You get your feelings hurt too
easily", "You need to develop a thicker skin", "Why do you
take things so personally?" etc. I remember various
encounters with others from my childhood up through adulthood in which I was
told I was too sensitive. Sometimes it was through using those specific
words: "You're SO sensitive." Sometimes it was more indirect,
but the same message was sent: It's abnormal and less than ideal to be
sensitive and if you want to fit into life and succeed, you will learn to
eradicate that part of yourself. And because this part of an empath
simply cannot (and SHOULD not!) be eradicated, it causes us highly sensitive
people to feel like we don't belong in this world. I think that most empaths
have felt alien at some point in their lives and perhaps we should as empaths
are thought to make up only about 2 percent of the world population. But
we should not feel like aliens from a negative perspective. We should
feel like alien heroes! Yes, being highly sensitive for an empath is
something to be celebrated. And I want every single highly sensitive
person to know that. Sure, there are downsides to being sensitive and
I'll explore those, but there are downsides to NOT being sensitive as well.
HUGE ones. There are also enormously wonderful benefits to being highly
sensitive. Not just for the individual, but for everyone that person encounters,
even if it's only a brief encounter.
Empaths are good
listeners, naturally giving and perhaps my favorite: spiritually open.
This leads us to encounters with others that most people do not have the
ability to experience. We are a safe place for those we encounter and
it's not just because of our direct words or actions. Empaths emit energy
stimuli as much as we absorb it. This means that we give off energy that
lets others know that they can open up to us, trust us and that they have found
an understanding, nurturing, and encouraging place to share a part of
themselves that they cannot share elsewhere.
So, yes, empaths are
highly sensitive. And as I mentioned, I will explore some of the
downsides of that in upcoming blog posts. However, what I want every
highly sensitive person to take away from this post is expressed well in the
following anonymous quote which I know that every empath needs to hear:
"If you feel as if you don't fit into this world, it's
because you're here to create a better one."
Until next time, Peace and Love to you all!
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