I Know What I Like - episode 121
Where to begin with today’s Insta Summer 2 guest, Thomas McBee? Shall I start with how our conversation inspired me, or that I like what he’s about? Thomas is fascinated with how things work, including himself. He believes we’re all connected and that we need to lead by example.
Thomas is becoming wise, not only through his life experiences, but also in reading books that assist in his commitment to personal development. However you describe that process, the bottom line is wanting to learn about yourself, reflecting and incorporating the knowledge into becoming who you already are. Sound familiar?
Funny. Empath. Unpredictable.
— Thomas McBee
I Think I’m an Empath Too
Thoughts from I Know What I Like
Thomas mentioned he was an empath. That is a word we hear a lot lately as a way to describe oneself or someone else. As you probably figured out it comes from the word empathy which means, the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. (Wikipedia.) In an effort to better understand myself I will share some of what I found out after a bit of research. I do this not only for me, which I find helpful, but also to inspire you to explore more of what makes you, you.
There are many websites that can help you determine if you’re an empath in 30, 15, 12, 13, or 11steps. I think I’ll stick with the site for eleven - sounds simpler. I found these on medium.com:
You are emotional (Oh yes, check.)
You are very intuitive (Definitely.)
Crowds are overwhelming (I can get through NY crowds, Disneyland, etc. but it takes work and I find it depleting as in I’ll need to lay down for a while.)
People & strangers trust you easily and open up to you (Upon reflection, I’d say yes.)
Babies & animals are naturally drawn to you (Ok, I think so.)
People often mistreat you (Hmmm, not sure about this one. In earlier years, I agree. I’d like to think I’ve developed to the point of not allowing this or living by the adage of Maya Angelou: When someone shows you who you are, believe them the first time.)
You enjoy spending time in nature (I do, but it’s not a have-to like it is for Ron. An uncrowded beach is a happy place for sure.)
Very caring to others (I tend to want to help as this site mentioned.)
Heightened Sense: sound, smell & sight (Yes! I seem to smell things that others do not.)
You prefer solitude and tend to isolate yourself (I would say I enjoy being alone, it is how I recharge, and I don’t feel lonely very easily or often.)
Don’t relate to the world (The description goes on to say empaths are a lone wolf, fiercely independent, not feeling like they fit easily into the world. I never really thought about it like that, but now that I’m trying it on, I’d have to say yes, I think so.)
I’ll give you an example as to why, even before I researched this, I thought I might be an empath.
We’ve had three different golden retrievers, one at a time, and they’ve brought joy to our lives. Animals tend to do that and clearly that’s why we have them as pets. Well when we leave Layla at home to go somewhere I feel so bad. I don’t want her to be lonely or out of sorts. And if we’re gone for more than a few hours I start feeling kind of sick. Once we’re home I feel better when I see how happy she is to see us again. This doesn’t go away for me. It continues. Obviously I am adult and I know she will be fine, and that I want to live a full life and not be housebound 24/7. So we go out and I deal with it. She’s still young at a year and a half. Early on I’d get a “sitter” and pay them to keep her company. For me it was money well spent. It was better for me to pay out some money to have peace of mind, and not have to have these mild feelings of despair.
I’m sure I could think of more examples and I will likely be pondering this for a while. Maybe you’re an empath too and can relate. Even if you’re not, if you’re reading this blog and are a listener of the UY podcast, you know how important it is to me to encourage you to be who you are. Fully. And that includes me too.
I don’t have to know you, to know.
— Source unknown
Layla with her friend, Esmerelda
