I recently read an article about how nature brings out the best in introverts. Being one myself I can attest to this.
Many a day I've spent walking the paths in our woods picking up broken branches, cutting back protruding bushes, and pulling vines before they could wrap themselves around tender new trees.
My woods have become a place of solace for me, away from the disturbing world, away from social encounters that make me uncomfortable because of my need to process my world differently than extroverts do.
The article listed five ways in which nature brings out the best in me:
- It gives me the space I need to process
- Science says so
- I get to step away and unplug
- It inspires my creativity
- It's a great way to be out in the world
The article states that introverts "have no qualms about doing things alone, like traveling solo or heading out for a day by ourselves. We enjoy the freedom that comes with letting the day unfold as it may, knowing we don't have to keep up constant conversation or worry about whether someone else is bored."
Being an introvert, however, can make life harder if you are also an HSP--a highly-sensitive person. I'm often misunderstood by others who do not have the same bent.
As a child I was told I was "too sensitive" so I never learned to have self-confidence. I thought there was something wrong with the way I was, but try as I might I could not be any different.
Studies now have shown that HSPs have a genetic component making them physically and emotionally more sensitive than 80% of the population. Finding out I wasn't TOO sensitive, but rather HIGHLY sensitive did a great deal in helping me accept myself as I am.
Learning to love and appreciate one's own differentness is part of our contribution to the world. It enables us to put ourselves "out there" even when we are an introvert.
To read the entire article on how nature brings out the best in introverts go HERE. If you want to learn more about what it means to be a highly-sensitive person (HSP), read THIS.
Watch the video that goes with the music I linked to at the top of this post....."Early in the Morning" by Peder B. Helland:
Hi Cathy , again you bring home the answer forus all who are highly sensitive. What a depth of undersanding you have.. love the photos and am going to read more on this.. I always loved solitude as a kid... off alone never bothered me.. now. afer all the mistakes of my life I feel worthless ... and lost that self confidence..my shell..... thank you for clarifying this... thank you .. will read more on this now.. Blessings and peace.. and so grateful for your wisdom and study.. Merri
ReplyDeleteMerri, I am so glad you found this helpful. We all need to embrace our differentness and trust that God will use it to His glory because then we will be walking in the path He has prepared for us.
DeleteI love to visit your little place of "paradise". Love walking your paths & the beautiful greenery & especially love your garden. So many colorful flowers & the occasional wild life animals. Love you Sis.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I have been able to share it with you. You are overdue for another visit! xoxoxo
DeleteYou took us on a beautiful stroll through the woods and gave me lots to think about.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to be able to bring my woods to you, especially if it gives you pause to reflect on how wonderfully you are just as you are.
DeleteCathy, I too am an introvert and highly sensitive. I tried for years to fit in and cover it up. I still do to some extent. I crave time by myself daily--nature fills a big void and makes my heart happy. Thank you for writing about this as many of us feel left out in this big old harsh world.
ReplyDeleteI've signed up to receive the weekly newsletters that the links I posted offer. Awareness makes a difference!
DeleteOnce again, I learned something here. You never fail to write about something interesting, Cathy. It's amazing. The more we understand ourselves, the better things become. The faculty at my school in the 80s all took that Meyer-Briggs test - are you familiar with that? It's very popular now in businesses, offices, schools - anywhere in which interpersonal relations, human dynamics is an important driver of the workplace. Which IMO should be everywhere, but that's another matter. Anyway I turned out to be an ENFJ. Everyone ends up with 4 letters after the assessment is scored or whatever - and mine meant Extrovert Intuitive Feeling Judgemental. But I think I must have been right on the line between Extrovert & Introvert because I thoroughly enjoy my own company too - and now that I'm retired, I happily spend a lot of time on my own. I've found that it's very contemplative, lots of good thinking gets done. And it makes me enjoy the time I spend with other people MORE. Because it's now more unusual & special. Glad you're happy being Highly Sensitive now - it is better than being labelled Too Sensitive, isn't it? How can you be "to" sensitive anyway? Being sensitive, in whatever context, is good - not bad. There's a lot of people in the world who, IMO, could do with a great deal more sensitivity these days. Have a wonderful week in your gorgeous garden. 🌺
ReplyDeleteI took that test years ago but I can't remember my letters now. It is said that extroverts get their energy from being around people while introverts get it from being away from the crowds. Thank you for championing sensitivity!
DeleteYour woodland walk is so lovely, Cathy. I would enjoy having something like that, but we didn't create that here. A number of years ago, I followed the recommendation of another blogger and read Dr Elaine Aron's book - The Highly Sensitive Person. It was quite a revelation for me. I continue to learn how to improve my own quality of life as I know you are.
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine! It was Dr. Aron's "The Highly Sensitive Person in Love" that I read a few years ago. When I came across the article I wrote about in this post I realized I'd slipped back into my "default" thinking that I'm TOO sensitive. Reading the article really got me back on track and feeling good about myself. You don't live that far from me. If you are ever over this way, I'd love to have you take a walk in my woods with me.
DeleteDear Cathy, thank you for the kind invitation.
Delete❤️
DeleteCathy, I've spent some time at the site you recommended and read the posts regarding Childhood Emotional Neglect. I found them eye-opening.
DeleteMany years ago I read a statement that stuck with me - 'children with the same parents did not have the same parents.' Age, stresses, health, griefs - these change the parents and the ways they can interact with their children.
When I started to read some of Dr. Webb's work, this statement became even more relevant to my life and that of my younger sister.
Thanks again for sharing these links.
I agree, Elaine, that we are a different parent for each of our children. My first two made me a much better parent to my third who came along six years after the second one--so I was a different person in many ways. Additionally, each child is different, so you interact with them differently. Thank you for letting me know this post has been helpful to you.
DeleteI don't think I am ever truly happy unless I am alone in nature. Just walking along with my thoughts and the sounds and smells of nature all around brings peace and calm, the two things I crave, more easily than anything else. I have never heard of, or thought of myself as being HSP, but reading it all, it makes perfect sense now.
ReplyDeleteI hope knowing that the way you are isn't "wrong"--just different--and therefore you surround yourself with the things that bring out the best in you. No one should try to fit someone else's "mold." Sometimes we may have to compromise, of course, but only when there aren't options where it's a win/win situation for all involved.
DeleteThank you so much for the link, thank you for not being afraid to say the truth because most of the time we feel left out.
ReplyDeleteIt's always difficult to be an Highly Sensitive Person introvert surrounded by extroverts. My childhood was a nightmare because of that. Many times I've been called nasty things because I didn't attend a party or wanted to go to events. Now, I know that I just need space and time and my garden, or walks in the woods, or the mountains. I learned the hard way that faking what you truly are is not working and pretty self destructive. Nature has become my therapy
Thank you for sharing your walk in the woods.
Being an introvert I had the same problem growing up and when you are also an HSP you feel the remarks even more deeply than someone who isn't an HSP. Thankfully, I also had a personality that allowed me to take risks and put myself out there. I amaze myself sometime! When I get hurt, though, I retreat until something comes along that I care enough about to take another risk. Thanks for joining in the conversation and sharing your experience.
DeleteI love that statement "learning to love and appreciate one's own differentness is part of our contribution to the world." I so enjoyed strolling with you on your garden path and noted to places to sit along the way. I will share this with my husband. It might be why he enjoys gardening so much, and he has to have alone time. I am not an introvert but definitely get revived and refreshed from quiet in nature. Thanks for a great post.
ReplyDeleteI think this is why opposites attract--they balance each other. My husband and I are too much alike so we end up staying home all the time! That's fine with me, but it's hard to be in a social setting when I have to be because I never get to practice being social. ☺️
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