the multi passionate empath – the positive vs the negative

There is something I have felt for a very long time, yet never really admitted that to myself.

Something I never wanted to embrace, because this was the reason of never feeling that I “fitted in” and believing that this was why I felt weird and different.

I decided to share my story , in the hope that by letting the stories flow from deep within, I understand more about what makes up “me” – ALL of me …. -the good, bad and the ugly-

and perhaps you can relate, maybe you can see some bits of you in my story and it will help you on your path.

Now that I have learned to put all the dots together, it's easy (easier)

Here is my view on the positive versus the negative of being a multi-passionate as well as an empath.

Multi-passionates can be called so many different things – some descriptions are friendlier than others.

I love this one: My grandfather called us “millipedes“

Growing up I saw him be a keen gardener, always in his vege garden and looking after his chickens. Painting the house, the shed, the garden furniture. I know he used to have his own business in the city where we lived, he used to sell and fix bicycles and some cars too. When I visited grandma and him, he used to build snowmen with me in winter and take me out skating. In summer we would go for walks around where he lived and visit the nearby farms to see the newborn piglets and calves and all that.

His special place was a little shed in the back yard. My Grandma never entered that space, but I was allowed in. He fixed all kinds of things had a workbench and also practised his art and craft projects in there, loved woodcarving and wood inlay art. Natural things were always his favorite and I think that my love for working with wood comes from him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember asking him one day about being able to do many things,

about being creative and liking so many different things. He said that was fine, we were the millipedes with many sets of hands for various tasks. Told me to be happy with that, because there were others that could not even do one creative thing. Be happy and celebrate it ….. as I grew up and listened to other well meaning voices, I forgot about this talk and his encouraging and positive words for a long time …..

There are many other positive, friendly ways to describe multi-passionates, like: Renaissance souls, multi-potentialites, multi-disciplinaries. Then there are the less nicely, derogatory words like: jack-of-all-trades, master of none; scanners; scatter brains.

Most multi-passionates are also very creative.

Which is often labeled to be anything-but career worthy. Therefor growing up as a creative made me feel less worthy. I was always questioning myself. Why could I not feel content pursuing a “normal” job and career? Why was it always so busy in my mind, surely something was wrong with me? Nobody understood me and I never really fitted in, even if I tried hard from time to time. Yet I somehow did understand other people's feelings, I felt their emotions and energies. That must have been another thing “wrong” with me …..

Later I realized that this is being an Empath or a highly sensitive person. Someone who can “read” people's energy really well. I read: – .. an empath is attuned to the frequencies of others and very often struggles to distinguish between their own vibrations and emotions and the emotions of others. Empaths who are not aware of their ability or do not know how to handle it may take on more than they deserve. –

While I was reading that, I remembered that when I was younger, my mother would tell me not to take the world's problems on my shoulders, because I could not solve them all by myself. So it had always been there, just not embraced and accepted fully. Growing up, I was taught to be a tough, strong Dutch girl.

I know now that you can be both an empath AND be strong at the same time.

Being sensitive to the energies around can show in regular mood swings, overwhelm by your own emotions, feeling other people's hurt and pain as your own, being effected by other people's emotions. It is as if you are a sponge, soaking it all up. You often avoid conflicts, misunderstandings, difficult situations, rejections etc. (you avoid being hurt)

A lot of empaths do not even know that they are doing this, because it comes natural to feel on a deep level. Empaths often think that everyone feels the same and are surprised that not everybody reacts in a similar way. When they find this out some try to hide it or numb it rather than embrace and celebrate this gift.

Studying about pieces that make up who I am helps me understand and value things I hid away or took for granted. Things I felt ashamed of, because it made me different from everybody else. It helps me to put in perspective the various qualities we all have and that it is a beautiful thing. It is a continuing process, everytime there is a little more I find out and understand. There is always a next layer to be revealed.

Learning about the mind, our mindset and what makes us tick captures my interest. And finding out about the gifts that have always been around in people, but that perhaps are no longer celebrated to their proper value in today's society. Maybe it is time for slower living, connecting to those things that make up all the aspects of our beings. I am deeply enjoying the things I discover and I am understanding myself more and more. It helps with my goals and how I can reach them. With how I focus and how I balance my life and work while staying true to myself. An exciting adventure and it makes me proud to be a multi-passionate empath 🙂

xx

Joyce