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Tahlee Rouillon's avatar

So beautiful! It reminds me of a piece by Anne Lamott that includes the line "...filled simultaneously with heartbreaking sweetness and beauty, floods and babies and acne and Mozart, all swirled together." ❤️‍🩹

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Kayti Christian's avatar

Oof, such a good line. I love her words and wisdom so much!

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Minaz Ansari's avatar

this is beautiful!

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Ruby Love's avatar

This is BEAUTIFUL and I so needed to hear this right now! Thank you for sharing Katie ♥️

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Sunil Bhandari's avatar

“We’re creating space for joy not in spite of our brokenness but because of it.”

Everything is transient - pain or joy. Sometimes, pain and joy. If only we knew how to immerse ourselves in the feeling of the moment - and then walk away from it. We would be wiser, more alive, immersed - and finally a step away from it.

Thank you for your wisdom.

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Tendani Mulaudzi's avatar

Beautiful piece, Kayti x

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Kayti Christian's avatar

Thank you xo

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Herschel Sterling's avatar

For me it's the thing where people treat me like i have a problem because i feel things. "Why does (this or that) injustice bother you?" As though my concerns for my fellow citizens is some kind of mental issue, or that there has to be some vulnerability in me that they would find "interesting", and that would explain why I have a concern. It's really weird, and I routinely, and increasingly think that sadism has been rewarded in our society for so long that it has been normalized.

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Kayti Christian's avatar

I totally get this and you bring up some great points. I think as a society we've been exposed to tremendous amounts of trauma, especially in the last few years. Having access to the internet and the quick spread of information seems to make people swing in either one direction or the other. For many of us with hypersensitivity, we become completely consumed to the point of drowning in our feelings (speaking from my own experience here). Alternatively, I've witnessed people who are not as hypersensitive become numb and struggle to empathize. This is all anecdotal but it definitely raises some big questions about societal norms for me.

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Herschel Sterling's avatar

that's why i'm enjoying JOMO, the Joy of Missing Out (on Social Media). When I write about it it puts me in a better head space and I really want to encourage everyone to give it a shot.

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Jeannie Ewing's avatar

I love how you write "our pain informs our joy." Spot on Kayti. I have been exploring this paradox between pain and joy for at least 10 years - since the day our second daughter was born with a rare and complex craniofacial condition called Apert syndrome.

As highly sensitive people, I believe we are attuned to the collective pain that is outside ourselves, as well as to our own. A life that is growth-oriented, that is courageous, is a life that turns toward all the experiences - the highs and lows, each and both - that happen day to day.

In my own experience of grief, I have felt both sadness and relief simultaneously. I have felt gratitude and rage at the same time. At first, this perplexed me, but I've become accustomed to embracing whatever comes, because everything is meant to teach us. Everything.

Thank you for the reminder that we are allowed to celebrate, even rejoice, while also mourning with those who suffer. We can do both. And we must.

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Kayti Christian's avatar

Thank you for this comment and your wisdom, as always! I love what you said about embracing whatever comes and viewing each and every feeling as meant to teach us.

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Jeannie Ewing's avatar

I'm happy to share and connect with you, Kayti.

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