What would you do as a very sensitive being on earth?

[Diana]

I can relate to both of you, Rose of India and IndigoSalvia. One difference with me is as a child I never cried except when I was just born—my mother has told me I used to cry and wail (although I was healthy) until I turned blue literally from not breathing properly (I joke that I had decided this place was not for me and I was thinking, Get me out of here! ). I think I didn't cry at all as a child because I was sort of in a state of continual shock over things, and I can recall being horrified and galvanized in certain situations.

As an adult now this is quite different. I can be reduced to tears when I see suffering. I have to be careful to shield myself to a certain extent or I spiral down too far. In my thinking, I am not much good to this world if I am depressed and in despair, so I balance the empathy/sensitivity with this necessary shielding. For example, I never watch shows about animal suffering due to the meat/dairy industry, or watch footage of war scenes (in which it is not only people who suffer but animals and plants as well). This shielding for me is necessary in order for me to be a functional human being in service to the world. 

For me, isolating myself is also not an option. I love being alone and being in nature. I live outside a city on a dirt road and feed and water (I'm in the desert) the local animals.  Right now the frogs are singing in my tiny pond at night and that means they are spawning. Soon there will be hundreds of polliwogs (I call them woggers) and I feed them cooked spinach in case there isn't enough algae growing. When it comes to interfacing with people I limit this. I too have similar reactions when I am around others in a group or party for an extended time—the next day I am drained, tired, heavy, almost like a hangover. I have a chiropractor friend who told me that he deals with this issue by doing Tai Chi, so he can process everyone's energy he works on.

Back to not isolating myself. For me, I feel it is part of being of service to put myself out there, but I balance this with my own well-being. So I endeavor to strike a sweet spot of going out and about and spending time in my sanctuary (my home). I have worked at home almost my entire adult life so I have been lucky there. Additionally, I maintain peak health as best I can—mind, body, and spirit. And finally, when I do see suffering, and knowing that it is happening all the time here, I endeavor to accept the conditions of this planet and let myself feel the pain instead of resisting it—this sounds paradoxical to what I said about shielding myself, but it isn't. I know myself well enough to know my limits, and that I am a work in progress, and I accept that, too.

As Ra put it, we are the "brothers and sisters of sorrow" and it is no wonder. I stand in solidarity with both of you, and all those who wander here. <3