sensitive – Live & Learn

Some days I am very raw, as though my outer layers have been peeled away

Some days I am very raw, as though my outer layers have been peeled away, exposing the new parts of myself to the wind and the sea spray… I feel very sensitive to different consistencies of light. The speed of the wind. The pull of my clothes against my arms. Everything has a texture. I had stopped noticing it. I have a new pleasure in holding objects. A cold, round apple is solid in the palm of my hand. I stroke the smooth, hard squares of Scrabble letters. I run my fingers over the rough wooden surface of the table. I wonder if this is how my mother felt when we came here during those long, brooding summers.

~ Jessica Andrews, Saltwater: A Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 14, 2020)

I loved it. Recommended for you? Hmmmm. Read a Kindle sample to get a taste.

Notes:

The Guardian Book Review: A coming-of-age debut novel. A story told in fragments as working-class Lucy finds her way in the modern world
NY Times Book Review by Penelope Green: “Growing Up in the Margins Without Being Marginalized“
NY Times 10 New Books We Recommend this Week

8 of 10. Bam. On point.

In general, highly sensitive people tend:

To be more sensitive to sights, smells, sounds, tastes and smells
To be philosophical and more in touch with their spirituality
To feel highly uncomfortable when being observed (e.g. by a teacher, a boss, during recitals and performances etc.)
To have vivid dreams which they remember in great detail
To have a deep appreciation for beauty, art and nature
To be good readers of others, and of non-verbal cues
To experience very powerful and intense emotions
To find it difficult to rebound from strong feelings and emotions
To be highly empathic and sensitive to others’ feelings
To be hard on themselves, and unforgiving of mistakes.

~ Online Counseling College: “Qualities of Highly Sensitive People”

Credits: Quote Source: Onlinecounsellingcollege. Photograph: Maeve:: To See You Like I Do by Reuben Wilson via Preciously Me.