holding space for our feelings
it is okay to be you
'We try to hide our feelings but forget that our eyes can speak' -Unknown
They have words for it nowadays, commonplace and part of our everyday vernacular. Empath. Introvert. Sensitive. Big-hearted.
Too much.
As a woman with many decades under my belt, I embrace my sensitivity. As many sensitive people will tell you, with tenderness in their eyes, sensitivity is our superpower. We quite literally, feel what you feel, but we have hard-won boundaries in place so that we can empathize without letting the feelings overwhelm us.
I want to hold a space here for all of you who were told that you were too much.
Too sensitive.
Too empathetic.
Too introverted.
Too big-hearted.
Too in touch with their feelings.
I want you to know that I see you and that you aren't too much.
You are magic, like lightening in a bottle. I know what it feels like to have all of the feelings but have to bottle them up inside till you feel like you are going to explode, because someone told you that your emotions were too much, too big, and unnecessary. I want you to know that I understand what it feels like to be overwhelmed by the intensity of what you are feeling, crying out loud because there simply is no other outlet.
I want to hold a space for you here.
For those of you completely overwhelmed by crowds, instead preferring the company of one or two people, remembering with dread all of the times people told you to just "put yourself out there, it'll be fine", and it wasn't fine, I see you. When too many people, too many sights and sounds, override your nervous system and the overstimulation threats to drown you whole, know that you are not alone. When the noise becomes too much and you are looking for an open door through which you can escape, we too have run for an exit, hands covering our ears.
I am holding a space for you here.
When advertisements make you cry, when you can't watch the news, when someone else's suffering makes you feel as if your own heart is being torn out, we are one with you. When songs move you to tears, when a glorious sunset makes you feel the spirit of the universe, when you understand the power of a really good hug, we feel what you feel.
Here is a space for you.
Being a sensitive soul is a gift. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You were designed to flow with emotion, cry like a river, laugh till your belly aches. You are a tree with many roots, empathetic in nature, and beautiful as you grow and become strong in your gifts that have been bestowed upon you. Your five senses are deep and sensual and magical, don't ever try to stuff them down or wish them away.
You are love my friend and don't let anyone try to take that from you.
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do you need downtime?
I have always been a person that needed their alone time. As a child, I remember riding the school bus home and while everyone was being rowdy and yelling, I was quietly reading with my nose in a book. I enjoyed being by myself and too much interaction with other people always drained me. I had friends and greatly enjoyed the comradery and times we spen…
Oh gosh I loved this and felt it all so deeply (ha!)! It really has taken me most of my life to embrace the full intuitive, empath, introvert that I am. Something like switched inside me now that I approach 40 to stop trying to contort myself into something I truly cannot sustain and instead lean into my sensitive being.
Thank you so much Mackenzie, it was such a revelation to me that everything that seemed to make it so much more difficult for me has suddenly become the very essence of what I do and who I am. It's so lovely to acknowledge that and know that others feel the same. 💞🙏