a sense...

what is your sense about this situation?

I have a sense...

it feels like...

I think this makes sense...

for as long as I can remember I have used my senses to guide me.  I think we all do, albeit in different ways for each of us.  if that were not the case, all of those people who have created personality tests would not have any work to do at all.  

here is the thing I have found out about using my well-honed skills.  they need stimuli in order to be used...to be with.

and for me, more often than not, that ever important entity is another human.  my senses are at their best in relationship.  having been surrounded by my family and close friends quite consistently growing up and then going into relational work with teenagers and families, I have learned that I am at my best when I am alongside others.  

now, from this statement I do not want to give the impression that I am extroverted.  I am much more of an introvert without a doubt, but a small group of people in a supportive, team space...ahhhh...my sweet spot.  

oh how I can contribute to a team!  

my senses are not only useful but sharpened by these compadres as we work together to reach whatever our goal may be whether that be creating the cleanest, most succinct visual display at a clothing retailer, practicing the best technique for tying a climbing rope in a certain way for storage in order to retain its strength, finding creative ways to teach two year olds their shapes and improve motor skills with only a roll of masking tape as a tool or drinking a coffee while sharing anecdotes with a friend. 

knowing this reality about myself I seek out this sort of setting. 

toujours. (always.)

sometimes I even forget how my senses work in the absence of others.  it is genuinely bizarre to me.  something I know like I know my own name can just slip from my mind finding me feeling afloat and lacking much direction.

I believe being able to utilise our senses is actually a superpower.  if you look up "sensitive" in the dictionary there are many definitions that indicate a sort of perceived weakness, but I am happy to report that the first explanation in my search read, "receptive to". 

absolutely!  

being receptive is a strength in my book.  

it is where the life is!  

if we are not receptive, we cease to be engaged and connected to one another and all that is living around us.  

receptivity is an indicator of life.

our senses can also challenge us, of course, as strengths are also want to do.

one of my favourite authors often references a scripture passage saying, "once you taste and see, it is impossible to un-taste and un-see."  

I think this is probably a pretty true statement.  once our senses have been enhanced in a certain way, have processed that stimuli, had that experience, been impressed upon by that person, we have been made aware.  we have been changed in some way.

we can choose if we would like to stay near or to remove ourselves according to how its effect on us enhances or inhibits us.  

what wonderful gifts are our senses, our abilities to process and internalise people, places, and things around us.  

may we surround ourselves as much of the time as possible with things which enhance, encourage, and empower our senses to help us to be kinder, more loving versions of ourselves.

cheers,

kb.