I still think of Joyce every time I see the word "epiphany."
As of yesterday, I am in a much better state of mind than I have been, albeit extremely tired. Went to VD after the Streetlight concert on Monday and therefore didn't get home until very late - driving to work on four hours of sleep (before coffee) is probably a very dangerous idea.
However, I've had a sort of epiphany about empathy. An empathy epiphany, if you will. My aunt (the one who died, with whom I'm kind of obsessed) was apparently an incredibly empathetic person. She had this amazing ability to get into people's shoes, to connect with their emotions and be an incredible healing force. Whenever my dad talks about how much I remind him of his sister - from facial expression to attitude to whatever - he always adds a little "except that she had a gift for empathy." Which isn't meant to be an insult but bothers me, because I would love to be exactly like her, to be known for something as important as that, but I don't think anyone would really consider me a terribly empathetic person.
But I'm starting to think that maybe I'm more empathetic than I give myself credit for. I think that one of the big reasons I've had this sort of cloud of anxiety and frustration over my head has been because I've been worried about people. Not just worried, but completely invested in their emotions and what they're going through, and the more I hear about it the more I start to feel exactly what they're feeling. So then, when a solution is in sight, or they feel better, my mood immediately increases as well. Which is why I feel like that cloud has just lifted up up and away recently, at least for a little while.
So I certainly don't have a "gift" for it, by any means, but my emotions are certainly very in tune with those of people I care a lot about. Maybe knowing that will help me gain some patience and be able to do something with that empathy, to actually comfort and aid the people I care about rather than simply internalizing those emotions and wondering why I'm feeling so lousy.
I just taught the secretary (see "music") how to figure out percentages and averages. All that AP calc must have paid off.
However, I've had a sort of epiphany about empathy. An empathy epiphany, if you will. My aunt (the one who died, with whom I'm kind of obsessed) was apparently an incredibly empathetic person. She had this amazing ability to get into people's shoes, to connect with their emotions and be an incredible healing force. Whenever my dad talks about how much I remind him of his sister - from facial expression to attitude to whatever - he always adds a little "except that she had a gift for empathy." Which isn't meant to be an insult but bothers me, because I would love to be exactly like her, to be known for something as important as that, but I don't think anyone would really consider me a terribly empathetic person.
But I'm starting to think that maybe I'm more empathetic than I give myself credit for. I think that one of the big reasons I've had this sort of cloud of anxiety and frustration over my head has been because I've been worried about people. Not just worried, but completely invested in their emotions and what they're going through, and the more I hear about it the more I start to feel exactly what they're feeling. So then, when a solution is in sight, or they feel better, my mood immediately increases as well. Which is why I feel like that cloud has just lifted up up and away recently, at least for a little while.
So I certainly don't have a "gift" for it, by any means, but my emotions are certainly very in tune with those of people I care a lot about. Maybe knowing that will help me gain some patience and be able to do something with that empathy, to actually comfort and aid the people I care about rather than simply internalizing those emotions and wondering why I'm feeling so lousy.
I just taught the secretary (see "music") how to figure out percentages and averages. All that AP calc must have paid off.