In the past I have betrayed myself to “keep the peace.” This choice isn't benign. When I betray myself, a brick lodges inside my body, either as physical pain, anxiety, resentment, or general irritability. I grab the forecasted cloud of conflict and swallow it whole. What does it mean to find community? To belong? My body answers with a soft sigh of understanding … [Read more...] about True Belonging Inside of the Storm
authenticity
The Pretty Twin: How a Haircut Shed a Disheveled Layer and Unboxed a Level
Cutting my hair was not only freeing; it was symbolic. I lopped off excess layers, shed who I tried in vain to be, and leveled up toward Me. Now comfortable in my own skin and confident in my abilities, I am somehow different from who I thought I was yet simultaneously exactly the same. I typically cut my hair only once every two and a half years to give to Wigs for Kids, an … [Read more...] about The Pretty Twin: How a Haircut Shed a Disheveled Layer and Unboxed a Level
Gifted, Empathic, Emotionally Intense, and Highly Sensitive
Trusting my ability to read other people and their situations is something I need to accept and honor. As I look back on meaningful, traumatic, or momentous occasions where I intuited the situation or the person correctly, I should be confident in my empathic ability. If I’m honest, my empathy crosses over into the unknown, and my fact- and science-based thinking doesn’t set … [Read more...] about Gifted, Empathic, Emotionally Intense, and Highly Sensitive
Learning to Live the Life of a Gifted Adult
When you no longer strive to change yourself to fit into the norm—the larger circle of society—you become a part of a much smaller group, a sparse group. And like-minded friends are hard to find. The truth is that it’s fucking near impossible to find someone who understands your giftedness, your intensities, your differently-wired brain, and your do-or-die empathy and … [Read more...] about Learning to Live the Life of a Gifted Adult