Empathetic Does Not Always Equal Empath

Many people are empathetic. A friend who listens to you is empathetic. A person who lends you money might be empathetic. A stranger who lets you out in heavy traffic is empathetic but being empathetic is not the same as being an empath.

Empaths Can Shake the World

Empaths are people who experience what others feel. They don’t just feel “sorry” for others or “happy” for others. They literally feel the other person’s sadness right along with them and they feel the other person’s joy right along with them. They truly rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Empaths come in all genders, shapes, shades, sizes, and ethnicities. They are not weak or sissy. They are healers. They are teachers. They are creators. They, as Gandhi said, “shake the world in a gentle way.” They are spiritual revolutionists. A strong empath, one who comes to understand who and what he or she is, becomes a beacon of light in this world, a creative force without limits. Jesus (the one in the Bible) is a prime example of a strong empath and it is my sincerest desire to become more like him.

I thought about what it is like being an empath and came up with my top “17” signs. Here they are.

YOU MIGHT BE AN EMPATH IF:

1. You love people, but you need solitude to restore your energy and separate your thoughts and feelings from theirs.
2. You are drawn to a field of helping others such as: teaching, medicine, psychology, nursing, counseling, writing, coaching, pastor, etc.
3. You are more forgiving than most people and feel for others, even when they’ve hurt you.
4. You rarely make statements that are harsh, unkind, abrasive, crude, critical, or prickly.
5. You avoid crowds where there is lots of noise and emotions run high, like concerts, ballgames, crowded malls, etc.
6. Little kids and animals are drawn to you more than to most other adults around you and you have a natural rapport with them.
7. Music speaks to your spirit.
8. You tend to see things from multiple points of view and feel how each decision is impacting the emotional and psychological well-being of others.
9. You MUST go by your intuition even when it’s not logical, scientific, popular, modern, or accepted. You have an inner voice and if you ignore it long enough, you get physically sick, i.e., headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure, IBS, and autoimmune disorders.
10. You’re a massive creator–Writer-Painter-Poet-Musician-Or all of the above
11. You are big-hearted, generous, altruistic–not because it “looks good,” but because it brings you pain to be any other way. Hurting others makes you hurt.
12. You feel what others feel, sometimes even over long distances, often deeper than they feel it and for longer periods of time. (You literally intercede spiritually on behalf of others, and you don’t stop until you feel peace about their situation.)
13. You sense things in people and animals that others don’t see, things that you can’t explain. Call it spiritual insight. You have moments (or dreams) where you know things without any earthly idea as to how you know them.
14. You often say “yes” to things that you really don’t want to do, just because you feel so strongly for that person in the moment, and sometimes, you let people with more forceful, dominant personalities and opinions override and drown out your own inner guidance system.
15. You had rather be punished yourself than see another endure punishment and feel their pain, because that is twice as hard as simply feeling the pain yourself.
16. You are your happiest in nature.
17. You know you that you are connected to the Source of the Universe, I Am, Creator, God, and when you allow anything to short circuit that connection, you spiral into unspeakable pain and sadness.