Leaning into My Empathy

The last week has been very emotional for me.  I consider myself an empath and have been confronted with a lot of the pain of people I care very much about.  Their situations are not mine to share, but I will say that I have felt a bit overwhelmed by what I know they are feeling.

Often, I can protect my energy from the effects of others’ emotions.  I will distance myself from people important to me when they are struggling if there is nothing that I can do physically to help, in hopes that by distancing myself from their current, low vibrational situations I can more easily hold their truth of ultimate good in my mind and heart for them.  Sometimes, it feels important though, to let myself grieve with them. 

I will still usually keep my distance if I do not feel ready to control my own emotions, but I let myself relax into the pain rather than avoiding it.  I let it flow through me.  I don’t know why, but it feels important that I let myself share their pain at times.  I rarely share with anyone that I am going into their pain in this way.  It doesn’t feel like something I should speak to them about.  It is more about being emotionally present with them than present in form. 

I am careful not to keep their pain.  I remember that it isn’t mine and that I am only able to help them heal when I can feel that they are healed.  That isn’t something I can do from this place of empathy.  I find a way to balance connecting with them, human to human and connecting with them soul to soul. 

So, for the last several days I have been accepting this gift to feel what others feel and letting myself do so.  I feel exhausted now, but not depressed.  I do not understand why this is something I need to do, but I know it is what needs to be done.  Maybe it is to keep from holding in and repressing the emotions of others.  Maybe it is to strengthen my bonds with my loved ones.  Maybe it is so that I can be reminded of why my work is so important.  I don’t know, I only do what I feel moved to. 

And now it feels like it's time to ground back into myself and step away from their pain.  It is time to go back to holding the truth of everlasting, ever-present good.  I will spend much of today practicing self-care and raising my frequency back to a place from which I can offer quality healing and support to others.  I do not know exactly why I had to take this time with the emotions of others, but I know it was what was the right thing for me.