"If the average person’s brain takes in 100 pieces of information, the sensitive person’s brain takes in 1,000." - Melody Wilding, Sensitivity Can Be A Superpower
Some people are like orchids and some like dandelions. Orchids require specific soil and conditions to thrive, whereas dandelions thrive in the most desolate grounds. This analogy is often used to describe the needs of a highly sensitive person in comparison to someone who is not. Because highly sensitive people absorb so much information about our environment, we require specific conditions to thrive.
"There’s a lot that can be said about the gifts of the highly sensitive brain. It processes information on deep level, sees more connections, and cares and relates to others in a profound way. But perhaps your most important gift as an HSP is the one designed to protect you. Your brain is fine-tuned to notice and interpret the behavior of everyone around you.” - Andre Sólo
While it is not better or worse to be an orchid or a dandelion, it is simply useful to know so that we can better curate our environments to support our innate needs or support those orchids that we love so that they feel safe enough to blossom in this intense, harsh and somewhat desolate world. It is useful to understand why we operate the way we do and use it to our advantage, rather than perceive it as a weakness.
"As an HSP, these mirror neurons are both your superpower and, at times, more than a little inconvenient — like when you can’t watch the same TV show as everyone else because it’s too violent. But it’s also what makes you warm, caring, and insightful about what other people are going through… HSPs are finely tuned to pick up even subtle emotional cues and react to them.” - Andre Sólo
It can be exhausting to be an orchid until you find the right supportive environment to thrive. Let this be a clear sign to you that you are not flawed and that your sensitivity is a valuable gift in this world. Especially if you have been called ‘too sensitive’ in a derogatory way. Your sensitivity is actually a crucial character trait in this often overly insensitive cultural climate that we find ourselves in.
“If you’re an HSP, your brain may be the most powerful social machine in the known universe… [A] better word for sensitive might be responsive. If you are a sensitive person, your body and mind respond more to the world around you. You respond more to heartbreak, pain, and loss, but you also respond more to beauty, new ideas, and joy. You go deep where others only skim the surface. You keep thinking when others have given up and moved on to something else.” - Andre Sólo
The world needs you share your thoughts, ideas and insights. It is the orchids in our world that are slowly but surely shifting our culture to a more mindful, considerate, inclusive and compassionate age. Your soft, gentle and slow way of being, growing and expressing is exactly the beauty and grace that our world needs. So, trust your innate sensitivity and plant your roots in an environment that is safe for you to blossom.
This article was inspired by the work of Andre Sólo and Jenn Granneman, creators of the Sensitive Refuge
Orchid image by Kuba Macioszek.