OK, let me go ahead and say this part: I am a crybaby. Yes, I am the official cryer for our family or yours if you need me. I can cry at the drop of a hat or the mere mention of Little House on the Prairie. Why, just today, I watched a heartwarming video reunion between a donkey and a little girl that had me in tears.
More seriously, I’ve found the things nearest to my heart difficult to express. I feel and experience life intensely. I can hear a particular piece of music, read a beautifully written poem or story, or see something (usually in nature but not always) so beautiful that I am overcome with emotion. I used to think this was a weakness because society seemed to be saying to buck up and get on with it. There didn’t seem to be a place for tenderness or another way to live a life that came from the heart.
Now I know differently. It took me many years to come to this conclusion. Reading and finding like-minded souls was a real turnaround for me. There are too many to mention, but Susan Cain’s book Bittersweet spoke to me in many ways. The Enneagram Personality Test revealed more about myself than anything I had ever read. I’m a 5, in case you are wondering. I highly recommend you take the test to find out about yourself, and it can be great fun for family or business. Another area of discovery that one of my daughters pointed out is that I am an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person), which explains a lot. I can quickly become overwhelmed when there is a lot of chaos and noise, especially the noise part. Drop a plate behind me, and I will react like somebody shot me. Being an HSP can make life a bit awkward at times, but my loved ones understand, and I have learned to work around it and avoid situations that I know could be triggered.
My sensitivity to the world and profound love of nature are infused into my photography and life. I invite awe, wonder, and beauty into my life as much as possible. When I ignore it or get derailed, I am quickly overwhelmed by the negative. There is simply no other way for me to live now.
I encourage you to be totally you. If you are overwhelmed with life or simply trying to get ahead (whatever that means), remember that you can’t get ahead without giving up something. Just ensure you leave something for your tender heart, protect it, and nurture it as if your life depended on it. It may be the most important and life-giving thing you can do for yourself. If you need encouragement from a crybaby, reach out; we can be crybabies together. Maybe we can start a club 😀
Can I join the crybaby club? I cry mostly when happy or moved. Like, during commercials with heart-jerking music. And movies, of course. It's embarrassing. I cried at every single one of my daughter's events throughout her life (dance recitals, getting her first pair of pointe shoes, surgeries, graduations, proms, etc.) I love it when men cry. That's so cool! I'm a therapist and when a man cries in session, I tell him about cortisol and how they found it in human tears -- which means that crying is the body's way of shedding cortisol. No shame for male tears! (P.S. Several of my male clients--and many of my female clients--are HSPs, too. It's so liberating to find that out, and understand yourself at last, right?) HSPs Unite!!! (I am one, too, of course.)
On your recommendation I took the Enneagram Personality Test and came up with a 5 and 9 being split. I've been reading The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up by Beatrice Chestnut and I'm blown away by how accurate the descriptions are. I'm also an HSP so Nature is my refuge as well.