January 17, 2016

Sensitive

Filed under: Sacred Wilderness,The Healing Project — Tags: , , , — Ann @ 9:09 am

sensitive

sen·si·tive
/ˈsensədiv/
: highly responsive or susceptible: as (1) : easily hurt; especially : easily hurt emotionally (2) : delicately aware of the attitudes and feelings of others

Odds are if you’re a “sensitive” person, you know it, and you’ve known it all your life. Sensitive is when you break into tears thinking about how little actual life-time your cat has because he sleeps so much of the day away (true story – me – last week).

Chances are if you’re sensitive, one or more people in your past have told you that you’re TOO sensitive (usually in the form of a non-apology for hurting your feelings). Or you’ve been told that you’re “too emotional.” In other cultures and/or at other times, “sensitives” may be valued for their intuitive gifts. In this culture, we don’t like people to be “too emotional.” It makes us nervous.

And, yes, there is a downside to facing the world with every feeling-receptor wide open. When you wear your heart on your sleeve, it’s far more vulnerable to breaking and bruising. Sometimes you have to limit your human contact. You can’t see films that are too intense or depict others being hurt.

But the pros far outweigh the cons: When you’re sensitive, you see beneath people’s facial expressions, always wondering what’s really happening under the surface. You are infinitely curious about the human condition. You make deep connections with others. If someone in the room is hurting, you’re going to be the first person to notice it. Chances are you’re a social worker, therapist, or otherwise involved in the healing arts.

The best thing about sensitive people is that they’re barometers of atmospheric inauthenticity. They embrace emotional honesty because they don’t have to waste precious energy using their superpower to break through layers of deception. So if you’ve ever been told you’re too sensitive, I want to sit next to you at every gathering. Because you’re the one who’s going to “feel the feel” and bring the real. And there’s nothing I love more.

January 4, 2016

Quotable Me

Don't Do This

Don’t Do This

Occasionally thoughts pop into my head that may or may not be considered “pithy” by me or by others. Years ago this occurred to me:

The trouble with some people is that they’re jumping the gun when they should be biting the bullet.

I’m sure there was context for this mini-insight, but that’s lost to history.

Someone, somewhere, someday might find this quote useful, interesting, inspiring, amusing, and/or shareworthy. So this morning I did what writers do and tacked it to the virtual bulletin board that is this blog post. (We USED to write such things on scraps of paper and use them as bookmarks, tuck them into files, or tape them to mirrors. Usually we just lost them. This is better.)

Before You Speak and As You Think

Filed under: Sacred Wilderness — Tags: , , , — Ann @ 7:21 am

AS YOU THINK

AS YOU THINK

BEFORE YOU SPEAK

BEFORE YOU SPEAK

We’ve all seen the “Before You Speak” motivational poster. As I write this, one is taped to my apartment’s front door where I can see it on a daily basis.

However, this morning I was reading Miss Manners’ response to a Gentle Reader in which she cautions the reader not to characterize a gesture of condolence in negative terms because “it’s not useful” to think that way. I started ruminating on the “usefulness” of our thoughts. (Thinking about the usefulness of thinking….metacognition at its finest.) I decided it would be fun to create an “As You Think” poster as a companion to the original.

Words are important — but thoughts come first.

January 3, 2016

Quote of the Day

Photo: Milky Way Over Yellowstone by David Lane

Photo: Milky Way Over Yellowstone by David Lane

If you live long enough, you learn that life brings you to your knees over and over again — both by sorrow and by gratitude. -Ann Clark

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