Today - (day 364) - My oldest cat (whose 18) woke me this morning with a very loud "Owwwww" - telling me it's time to get up (I should have never shown her how to read the clock!) She's tiny with the voice of lion. But it was good to snuggle with my cat, wake to the warmth of a fire and hot shower and see the deer grazing outside. 364 is a good day.
For the New Year, I found an interesting GIF that simply said "365 New Days - 365 New Chances". This really resonated with me (so of course, I texted it to everyone I knew!)
It also got me thinking that it's a wonderful opportunity to share insight, gratitude and just plain old good stuff on a daily basis. It will be interesting to see (1) if I commit how long will I stay with it; (2) who will participate; and (3) what type of impact, if any, will it have on daily life.
So day 365 - (New Years Day) - was inspirational as we have had two geese visiting us for almost a week. They come each morning to eat some seed I throw out and then later in the evening until dusk when the deer run them off. Two things are wonderful about this (1) we live in Texas where we don't have geese and (2) the spiritual meaning of seeing two geese is: love, partnership, bliss, longevity and that a higher truth will be revealed. Pretty interesting.
If you’ve read my blogs, you know I like to research and find different perspectives with varied information on a particular subject before typing it out. As an Empath I thought I knew quite a lot about the subject but after researching it – I discovered some interesting facts that now make more sense to my own sensitivity for animals and people.
A few weeks ago, while traveling to San Antonio, there was a small heard of deer attempting to cross a busy street. After I stopped and honked to get them to hurry along, I proceeded only to find the group of cars behind me that came zooming up. Then, I witnessed one of the deer impact a small SUV, falling to the pavement and sliding to the side of the road. As an empath I felt what that doe was feeling, and it was overwhelming and horrific. As I sat at the light with tears streaming down my face and shaking, I called my husband for help. I explained what happened and he started sending me light and healing. It took about three minutes for my feelings to adjust and to regain my energetic balance. After that I tuned into the deer to see if I needed to go back and realized she was shocked but okay. A few days later, while traveling the same road I was much relieved that there was no sign of any deer being injured.
It was several years ago when I understood my deeper connection with animals and people was my finely tuned empathy. Empaths have an amazing and unique connection with all living beings. We feel others’ happiness and joy as well as their sadness, hurt or trauma.
An empath, according to psychiatrist and author of The Empath's Survival Guide Judith Orloff M.D., is a person who tends to be "sensitive, loving, have big hearts, with finely tuned intuition." Psychology, in general, defines an empath as an individual who feels more empathy than an average human. Individuals who are exceptionally sensitive to emotions and the frame of mind of others.
Although all people are empathetic there are some more than others and some almost void of empathy. Empaths, however, have a strong connection and capacity to receive others’ emotions and absorbing those feelings as something they cannot control. Empaths have been described as emotional and sometimes physical sponges.
Something I discovered is that Empaths are like a buffet in that there is a large variety: emotional, telepathic, physical, psychometric, molecular, animal, plant, earth, intuitive, etc. Empaths are certainly not a one size fits all!
While all empaths have a degree of heightened sensitivity to all energetic beings, emotional empaths supposedly have only one trait and that is to feel other people’s emotions while telepathic empaths can read other’s thoughts as well as their emotions. A physical empath is highly sensitive to other people’s bodies with a “knowing” of something not being well. An animal empath feels what an animal is feeling as well as being able to communicate with animals. The same is for plant empaths.
Most empaths feel drained of their energy when in large social gatherings or crowds since they are absorbing everyone’s emotions. This can be overwhelming. If you find this familiar to you, it is important to know how to set up your personal boundaries and protection, so you don’t take on anyone or anything else’s energy, emotions, thoughts, or moods.
Some believe that animals assist with healing empaths energetically. This makes sense because many animals are empaths and frequently take on an illness or some sort of trauma on behalf of their human companion.
Years ago, we had a cat “Baby” with whom I developed a very strong bond. My husband had struggled for years with an enlarged heart while I suffered from extreme allergies. Baby had an enlarged heart and suffered from allergies. While my husband and I still endured our issues, they seemed to get better while Baby apparently took on a lot of our stuff – she died short of her fourth birthday from a major stroke. Perhaps this was just a coincidence, but I don’t believe it was. I believe Baby was an empath and tried to ease our suffering. Empaths and animals, it seems, have always had a special relationship.
Empaths are so in tune with the world around them that they are usually vegetarians or vegan, are compelled to help others, and must have plants and animals in their daily lives. As a vegetarian myself, I often have people ask me why I don’t eat meat. Usually, I just say it’s a choice and jokingly say “I don’t eat the friendly”. Most would not understand that as an empath, I do not want to experience or absorb the trauma the animal experienced when it was slaughtered.
So, if you feel a special or heightened connection with animals, plants, the earth, certain people or have a deepened reaction to an event that you hear about or even witness, you might be an empath. Like anything else, you can look at this as a blessing as you are probably a good listener, understand people or animals on a deeper level and can easily detect something false or untrue. But you can also become overwhelmed, have mental strain or emotional overload that you may falsely believe is your own, and have a higher risk of burnout from taking on everyone else’s stuff.
If you believe you’re an Empath (on any level) make sure to take time for yourself – being alone in nature away from anyone else’s feelings or stress is best. It might be you feel more at ease listening to music, doing mediation or yoga, or even taking a long bath. Over time, you may be more selective as to people you spend time with as you can soak up feelings and being around a toxic personality will be difficult. Most of all, if you are an Empath and need help adjusting, activate your personal protection and boundaries, or seek the help of a professional. That professional may be a therapist or spiritual counselor. Learn what resonates with you. As I mentioned above, even with my knowledge and experience with boundaries and protection there are still occasions where I seek assistance from my husband in being able to recover from an unexpected emotional overload.
Remember, being an Empath is good once you establish your boundaries and share energy without depleting your own.