How Being A Highly Sensitive Person Can Be A Gift
A sharing of my personal experiences
I have always been sensitive, to the point of being called a crybaby as a child. For years it was the bane of my existence, but once I began doing some recovery work for those from dysfunctional families, I began to see that it actually has also been a gift to me from my Creator.
Being sensitive has made me much more aware of the pain of others, and more empathetic toward them. It has helped me avoid, to a large extent at least, taking on the judgmental traits of my father whose mother was probably the most judgmental person I have ever met.
I believe it has also let me be more open to other forms of life. After all, the ants, spiders, birds and rabbits deserve our regard too, for they have always lived in surrender to the Creator of all things, or so I believe. In fact, I deeply grieved (excessively so) all my dead pets, baby birds fallen from their nests and roadkill until I found in the Quran that the creatures actually return to God when they die:
All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book. To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned. (Quran 6:38)
And I am delighted to hear from my strongly Christian sister that her understanding matches mine, that the animals go back to God when their time is finished on this planet. She also shared her feeling that many Christians she encounters agree with us. Shared belief among different faiths always gives me great hope, perhaps another benefit of my sensitivity.
I think to me the most beneficial aspect of being hypersensitive comes from the way in which it has always caused me to turn to the Higher Power that I most comfortably call God. When I was a young child, around the age of eight I had an experience that gave me a certainty of God’s existence. I believe it happened because I was “way too sensitive,” as some have called me.
I have written of this experience before in the beginning of An Open Letter To That Which Is Beyond Understanding. If you have not read this story let me summarize. I had retreated to my normal refuge in the dry riverbed near my childhood home. Something had happened that upset me and I sat sobbing my heart out. Suddenly something changed and I felt the calming and peaceful presence of God envelop me.
If I had not been so sensitive this event would not have taken place, or at least not in the form it did.
There have been other instances much later in my life too. As an example, about six years ago my husband Rafe and I took our old Yamaha truck up the Dempster Highway in the Yukon Territory of Canada, along with a wonderful little row boat we called “Swifty” because it was so light and easy to handle that you could row very fast in it.
One afternoon I was upset about something probably quite inconsequential. I needed to get away and think. So I took Swifty out on the lake where we had camped. A light breeze blew, blue sky with just a few little puffy clouds and warm sun-filled the day. I began to feel a bit better, but not quite back to normal when I heard the calls of swans. I looked up and a gorgeous pair of white Trumpeter Swans flew overhead so near that it seemed I could have reached out and touched them.
They landed very close to Swifty and God blessed me with the chance to study their beauty. All distress was totally forgotten. I feel they were essentially “angel swans” sent to comfort me and break the cycle of my emotional pain.
Possibly my sensitivity had nothing to do with these experiences, but my gut tells me otherwise. And one of the things I have learned in my now fairly long life is to trust my gut feelings. My head can often lead me astray, but those gut feelings almost always turn out correct, praise God.
If you experience hypersensitivity I hope that this story has given you a few positive ways to look at your sensitivity.
Thank you for reading this and please feel free to respond if you would care to share your own thoughts or experiences.
Peace and joy!
I’m Lisa Spray. As my profile says I love nature photography and God by whatever name you feel most comfortable with. I started the publication The Heart of Quran with some dear friends where we hope to draw together as Muslims with the understanding that anyone from any faith is called a Muslim in the Quran if their heart is committed to their own Higher Power. We also want very much to share interfaith dialog with anyone who is interested. Please do come visit any time you like.
This story was published in The Cotton Thread — weaving life with words. If you want to be a writer in our publication, click here.
