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August Blog Challenge - Day 14

Describe 5 strengths you have.


  1. Empathetic - I'm an empathetic badass.  Kate and her friends sometimes post on each other's pictures "feelin' it."  That would be me.  I feel everything. My own emotions and those of others.  I absorb them like some kind of weird sponge.  I feel them deeply and physically.  This is a gift. To me and often to the people in my life.  I resonate with the feelings people have, which allows me to know them beyond the surface.  I look around, and I realize this is rare.  The ability to connect to someone in a deep, meaningful way is often lost in our hurry-up, social media-saturated world.  I'm not afraid of the ugly emotions, of tears, of fear, of anger, of darkness.  This allows me to be present in the moment with someone, to bear witness, to honor what they feel.  To allow them to just be whatever, whoever they are. 
  2. Insightful - Daryl tells me I'm brilliant.  I don't know about that, but I do seem to have an ability to get to the core of an issue.  I'm able to read motivations that are sometimes hidden, even from the person themselves.  I'm able to make connections that help people make sense of what they are feeling.  I read the subtext and ask questions that uncover more. I don't let things slide. I'm driven to confront it, bring it out. I'm not only an empathetic badass, I'm an emotional archaeologist, a feelings detective.  
  3. Writing - Ask me to tell you something, and I'll freeze and stumble on the words.  Let me write and you'll see the entire world that lives in my heart.  Writing is how I make sense of the chaos that storms through my mind and how I heal the ache in my heart.  It's how I touch the infinite. How I reach understanding of the universal archetypes that drive us.  It's raw and it's honest.  
  4. Intense - I'm all in.  When I do something, I do it 100%.  Maybe this is why I procrastinate.  I put my heart and soul into what I do.  It matters to me.  Intensely. I share it all, risk it all. I'm like a two-year-old.  Have you ever seen a toddler sorta happy or just a little mad? No.  They shout with joy and shriek with laughter when they're happy and they throw themselves on the floor and scream and cry and kick when they're mad. I'm like that.  But I also do peaceful the same way.  It's not always a roller coaster.  I also find intense satisfaction in those peaceful moments, and I'm so grateful to be able to have that sense of sheer contentment in my life.
  5. Love - I fall fast.  I love hard.  I am fiercely loyal.  I commit.  I don't give up. I'm authentic, honest, transparent.  I'm willing to risk everything for those I love.  And I look for something to love in every person I meet.  You see, I believe that, when you strip away everything, the only thing that really matters is love.  I have lost everything...people, pride, faith, power, thoughts, memories, will...but the one thing this life cannot steal is love.  When everything else burns to the ground, the love remains.  
Some of you are going to wonder why I didn't put strong in the list.  I'll tell you.  I'm not strong. People say, "I don't know how you do it.  I couldn't do it."  Oh yes, darling. You could.  Any of us could if we have to.  Nobody wants to sit by someone's side as they are poked and prodded and puking from chemo.  Nobody wants to design a headstone for a baby's grave. Nobody wants to explain to their children why people decide to kill themselves.  Nobody wants to figure out whether a certain therapy or school program is the right choice for their child with a disability,  Hell, nobody wants to hear that there is something wrong with their child and then be left wondering how to live with that.  But you do.  You just do.  If it happens to you or someone you love, you just do.  You figure it out and you don't quit.  Because quitting is not an option.  When someone depends on you, no matter how sad or tired or defeated or angry you are, you get up, put on your lipstick and face it. You lean your shoulder in and you push back.  You show up.  You stay.  It's not strong, or brave, or selfless.  IT'S JUST WHAT YOU DO.  It's just what you do.

Comments

  1. Patti in NJ8/15/2016 9:27 AM

    Loved this. It's often so hard to admit why we're truly good at.

    ReplyDelete

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