Tuesday Choices and More About Myself

Hello everyone!  A very warm welcome to you all! 

Before I begin this post I wanted to say that those of you who have been long time readers of my blog and who know me well are aware that I am a lady of a few words.  You can see this in my blog posts as well as in my comments on your blogs.  There are times where I will make a long post and share my deep thoughts and feelings, and this is one of those few posts.  Warning:  it is a long post.  Thank you so much for reading.

One of you asked me to share more about HSP (Highly Sensitive People).  I have been a HSP ever since I can remember!  I think it was beginning to show when I was in grade 2 in elementary school. A teacher of mine noticed that I wasn't as quick to catch on as the rest of the students in the class, so I was put into a class for slower learners.  While I will admit that yes, I do have a slower capacity for picking up some things, especially things with a lot of details, I am not sure I actually belonged in this class because there were students in the class who were slower than I was.  I am quite a deep thinker.  I like to take my time to absorb things, to analyze, to go over, basically, to look at all angles before I make a decision.  Perhaps the teacher didn't understand my personality/character, but whatever her reasoning, I was put into the special class in grade 2 and was in this class until grade 9 in high school!  Yes.  I want to share about HSP more in depth, and please know that this is my personal life experience, it doesn't necessarily speak for other HSPs;  however, some of it will, because HSPs have much of what I will describe in common.  

I am highly sensitive to the people and things around me, and although this can, and actually is, a very good quality, sometimes I tend to take things too personally, which is something I have been working on.  For example, sometimes somebody may be in a bad mood and snap at me...sometimes this can make me resort to tears.  I have to remember that it isn't about me, it is about them.  They may be having a bad day and I just happened to be there when they explode or whatever.  :)  I am also highly sensitive to light;  particularly bright lights, such as neon lights. They are the worst and sometimes give me a headache.

I don't like loud noises, crowds and as such, I have never liked parades, concerts or big parties.  It isn't that I am not a people person, quite the contrary. I love people it is just the noise from large groups of people that I don't like.  I love one on one interaction, and I love to go to friends' homes for meals and to spend time with them.  If things get rowdy or too loud, I will make my way out and graciously depart.  I love quiet time, in fact, I really need this on a daily basis, mostly in the evenings, as it gives me time to relax, to rejuvenate, to ponder, to pray, to just be!  

When I was a baby, my mother kept wondering why I didn't wake up for the usual two hour feedings that 'normal' babies do.  I slept through the night.  I was only 5.8 pounds when I was born, and I was born 3 weeks premature.  The doctors said that if I was half a pound less I would have been in an incubator.  My mother had already lost 5 children...four were miscarried and her fifth, a son, who was born about 6 years before I was born, sadly died at the tender age of 7 months (bronchial pneumonia).  So you can imagine why my mother was so worried about me not waking up for feedings during the night.  The doctor told her that as long as I ate, don't worry about me, and that my mother was lucky to not only have a child after having lost 5, and I was born just 2 months short of my mother's 41st birthday, but to have a baby who slept through the night!

I was made fun of in school a lot by the children in the regular classes.  I was often called "stupid," "retarded", and it really hurt and I often went home crying.  Having had this experience of being in a special class for slow learners gave me a great insight into what these children go through on a daily basis, and I am very sensitive and understanding, not to mention patient, with people who are autistic, retarded, dyslexic or any other mental illness or disability.  For this I am very grateful.  

Getting back to the HSP...I am very sensitive to others' moods and feelings, and I have a tremendous capacity to learn, to work and to live.  I am independent and punctual, a great worker, and where I have the issues is if an employer doesn't understand my personality type (some employers are not patient, understanding or people-oriented and sometimes they even yell at and belittle staff).  I must say that I have been blessed in about 90% of the jobs I have worked at.  The employers valued my honesty, my attention to detail, my sensitivity to the needs of others and the company and the quality of my work.  Basically, for myself, it isn't about the speed of the job, but how well done the job is.  That describes me in a nutshell.  I much prefer to take a few minutes longer to make sure that things are done properly than to speed up, make more mistakes resulting in perhaps having to do things all over again.  I know this is long, and I don't usually make long posts, but I hope that this will help you all to get to know me better and the way I think, who I am and what some of my life experiences are.  Thank you so much for listening.

The videos I have selected for this post are:

A Just for Laughs Gag/Juste pour Rire

Firefighters Had No Idea a Simple Act of Kindness would Lead to This!

Snorkeling Animal Handler Teaches Cute Penguin to Swim

Random Acts of Kindness from Police Officers

Maria - Pernell Roberts (for those of you who remember the classic TV show 'Bonanza', Pernell Roberts played the role of the oldest son, Adam Cartwright!) He also had a great talent for singing, as you will hear in this video.

They Call the Wind Maria - Pernell Roberts

For the following, I am providing the link sources beneath each photo.  You just need to click on the images to see a larger view.

The one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention. - Diane Sawyer

Incredible Joy

Don't be afraid to fail.  Be afraid not to try.

Perapy

It is amazing the energy we spend holding on to our past fears in order to predict our future misery. We'd rather be afraid and in control than to dare fully enjoy the present moment.

Sketches in Stillness

One Canadian's brilliant response to a photo posted by a U.S. Republican.  :)

Meanwhile in Canada

Sometimes it's life's storms that get us moving in the right direction.

Princess Sassy Pants & Co

One Million Recipes

One of the most loving things you can do for yourself...is try to find the humor in a tough situation.

Karen Salmansohn

Imagine if people put as much emphasis, desirability and effort into mental health as they did physical health.  Gym selfies would look like, "just worked through some baggage with my therapist!"

Defeat Depression

To get out of a downward spiral of negativity...practice gratitude.  Pay attention to what's going well.  Find one thing to be hopeful for.

Flowing with Change

Peace is my choice.

Peace Flash

Lucie Bilodeau, Artist

Louise McNaught, Contemporary Artist

To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.

Kristine Carlson

Seal of approval.  "Good job!"  :)

Peadoodles

Thank you all so much for visiting me here!  I always appreciate and enjoy reading your kind thoughts, which you are always welcome to share!