Yesterday I went to the pool before work. This is becoming one of my favourite things to do. I find it to be a good way to start the day in a calmer head space. As I was getting ready to swim a woman, that I will call the tornado, came into the locker room. I was moving at a reasonable pace. She came in at a frenetic pace, hence the name the tornado.
After a minute or so, I noticed I was starting to feel anxious and like I needed to be rushing myself into the pool. I was starting to take on the frenetic energy of the woman next to me. Yesterday I noticed it and managed to remind myself that that was her energy and I didn't have to take it on.
I don't always see myself taking on others peoples' energy that quickly. I am sensitive to the mood and energy around me. When there is a lot of stress of negativity going on around me, I feel it. When I am around people that are sad, I feel it. My counsellor calls it a "Highly Sensitive Person", my friend calls it an empath. Same thing as far as I can tell, the difference being the angle you come at it from. Basically it means feeling other peoples' emotions right along with them. The thing that is hard about this is being able to see what belongs inside and what belongs outside of you. It means learning to empathize with other people and then give them their emotions back and moving on with your day. This is not an easy thing for me to do.
The moment yesterday when I saw myself starting to feel the tornados' emotions was a good moment for me. I was able to see what impact it was having on me before it became difficult to differentiate her emotions from mine. And so, progress.
