An Empath

5 years ago I sought the help of a threrapist.  I knew that Tyler would be leaving us soon and I wasn't sure how I would handle such a difficult adjustment.  I didn't want to go through it without an allie who could help me look at things objectively.

One of the very first things I described to him was this inexplicable feeling I had that I could feel things that were going on around me. It made me feel a little crazy in a way.  I wasn't trying to suggest that that I had some super power, but that I had some sensitivity that made me feel things within other people.  Like I could instantly tune in to a persons wavelength like most people tune into a radio station.

A week after starting therapy, Robin Williams committed suicide.  We discussed this in therapy and my doctor confided that many of his patients were hit hard by this but he wasn't sure why exactly.  Deep down I did know why.  I just didn't understand what it was I knew.  I could sense that under the comedian fecade that he felt immense pain for people around him.

There is term called an Empath.  Many wonderful people have the ability to understand what another person feels.  A person with empathy can look at a situation and put themselves in the other persons shoes.  An Empath is a person that automatically feels the emotions of others, without making a conscious effort.  In other words, an Empath reads emotions and places themselves in the minds of other people without intentionally doing so.  This was exactly what I was describing to my therapist.  I was an Empath.

It's very hard to be an Empath.  Those who are not empathetic frustrate us.  We struggle to understand why there is so much pain around us.  We struggle with people who seem unsympathetic to the needs around them.  The hate drains us like a negative life force.

If you have tremendous empathy, or you are so sensitive that you are an Empath, you should view this with a sense of pride.  Withou empathy, we cannot hope to help others.  It's only by putting ourselves in someone else's shoes that we can find compassion.

Be well and God bless.  Tom