I want this next post to be a celebration of sensitivity. It is a word that evokes numerous qualities, and can sometimes carry a negative connotation. I hope to portray it as it has become to me: a gift.
I have always been described as overly- sensitive, and as someone who internalizes the reactions of others. I used to want to shut this down, to care less, to respond with apathy rather than passion. I thought that this would make for an easier life.
I now conceptualize sensitivity as an absolute blessing. I have receptors that are acutely tuned to the external world, to the people and events of my life. I am moved by other people and invested in their outcomes and my own. This quality makes me listen closer and love harder. It brings emotion into a visceral and conscious place, allowing me to understand what it is that I am feeling. I am able to communicate with others more openly as a result.
In contrast, emotional sensitivity can feel like a thin layer of skin, like a lack of necessary separation between yourself and... everything else. It can feel like you are being berated by stimuli. Its overwhelming, frankly. The thing is: although sensitivity is defined by a tendency towards deep reactions, we have control over how we express these. We hold the power to recognize which emotions are conducive to interpersonal connection and self- fulfillment, and which are just not.
Cultivating the ability to discern which are which, and then to respond accordingly, is a lifelong journey. But the opportunity to do so sets my deeply sensitive soul on fire.
