Weekly Insights: Strength in Sensitivity...

Sensitivity is a super power, and not a weakness. The more in tune we are with ourselves and others, the more we are able to understand and connect with the world around us. We become a safe place for people who are seeking refuge and comfort. In a world that tells us to toughen up, our true power lies in our ability to "perceive, process, and respond deeply" to life. It is much easier to turn a blind eye, walk away, or simply not care about anyone or anything beyond the self, but what kind of world would this be if everyone was this way? Sensitive people are the ones that help bring empathy, deeper communication, intimacy, and trust to each connection.

As an interconnected species, we hurt ourselves when we detach from one another. Stress, anxiety, and depression are the results of shutting off our emotions. Part of our mental health comes from our ability to feel. It helps us to become better partners, parents, coworkers, friends, and family members because we tend to trust more when we think someone cares about us. To show vulnerability with emotion is opening ourselves up completely, and becoming a bridge that brings people from opposite ends of the spectrum together. As a humankind, we have slowly distanced ourselves from each other with the help of technology and the lifestyle of this modern world. When we don't have authentic connections with each other, we lose perspective on how other people feel and see the world. This leads to more misunderstandings and more conflict. Why, as a human kind, are we less sensitive today than we were in the past? What has changed and how has it affected us?

Some will say that the day humanity started wearing shoes and spending more time indoors under false lights than outdoors in nature, we started to separate ourselves from each other. We are part of nature, and our disconnect with the natural world makes us less connected to our natural senses. Instead of welcoming in the natural smells, colors, sounds, flavors, and feelings of the Earth, we now have artificial or man-made alternatives at our fingertips. This has been one of the main reasons why we have become less spiritually connected and more mentally driven.

Many people will argue that it's because of the internet, social media addiction, video games, online pornography, digital dating/communication, and online education that has made it much harder for us to be emotionally connected and fully present with one another. There is so much information coming at us every minute of every day, that we can get overwhelmed and that can lead to numbness and desensitization. Part of how we connect to a Love mate or good friend is through scent, and we miss out on these sensorial connections when we relate to one another through a digital device. When we look at one another, we feel each other's expressions, body posture, movements, or ticks to understand what is being felt. Once this authentic connection is lost, then unrealistic expectations, negative self-analysis, and false beliefs are born.

Early age trauma, abuse, or emotional pain is detrimental to our interpersonal relationships. These experiences can sometimes cause us to be extra cautious and guarded, or we can become completely numb in order to cope with feelings of being overwhelmed by the thought of intimacy. Survival Mode is a real thing, and "fight, flight, freeze, or faint" can take over as a nervous system response to help protect us from distress. The brain can be the very thing that guards us from the world around us by creating a wall that is impenetrable. This is another great reason for practicing self-healing work daily through breath, meditation, movement, and Earth connection.

Finally, society can be an influence that causes us to focus more on our outer world and away from our inner world. There are external pressures to make a certain amount of money, to dress nice, have nice cars, and acquire lots of useless material goods. Today's society can put pressure on us to suppress our emotions and act tough by hiding how we really feel. It can also put pressure on us to follow the group or community we associate ourselves with regardless of our personal beliefs and values. This is extremely harmful and can get in the way of us being authentic and expressing our true feelings and emotions. In families, communities, work environments, neighborhoods, and politics, we are able to see and feel the disassociation with our humanity and interconnectedness. Societal pressures can sometimes be the catalyst to activating our most destructive side. It takes inner strength to stay true to the heart and not succumb to societal pressures.

To find our way back to our senses, so to speak, we have to take the time and energy to become more self-aware. Learning how we feel, why we feel that way, and how our feelings impact our actions and behaviors can be greatly helpful. As we open ourselves to deeper connections to our own heart, then we can start to understand our brothers and sisters on these deeper levels. Educating ourselves on why groups of people have developed such strong opinions about social ideals is also important. History has a lot of answers that can help unlock the truth. We have to be able to understand how other people feel, and observe one another's behaviors in order to act in ways that help and not hinder our connections. It can be cliché to say "put yourself in someone else's shoes", but it is part of developing empathy. Observing the suffering of others helps us embrace our own vulnerabilities in order to find common ground. These are all steps on the road to mindfulness. We can practice being mindful of ourselves, of others, and of how we process the world around us. By becoming more present, we can develop sensitivities like empathy as a strength and a guide to help us navigate through our lives. When we are perceptive of our feelings, raw with our emotions, and open to openly expressing ourselves, then we are much more sensitively connected to our environment. A world filled with sensitive people is a much more caring, Loving, forgiving, and healing world. Isn't this the world that we want to live in? Never apologize for being sensitive. Feeling deeply is truly a superpower. It is the real power, the gentle power, and the humble power of Divine grace.