Empirical or Practical
Empirical – depending on experience or observation alone without using scientific method or theory
Practical – mindful of the results, usefulness, advantages or disadvantages of action or procedure
Practical I know. Empirical I feel. Unfortunately, we live in a day and time when knowing overrides feeling. Tough for someone that is very sensitive and highly empathic.
How it is for me
For a long time I have tried not to feel because I feel EVERYTHING. And I used to think they were all my feelings.
I not only feel it in my heart (as in sympathy) but I feel it in my body. I get a headache by walking by someone who is down on themselves. When my son injured his knee, my knee began hurting before I even knew of the accident. When listening to a friend tell the story of a mother who had just lost a child, my uterus contracted in pain. I know when my husband is in a funk because the side of my head hurts. The same side he used to hit his head with a shoe when he was little.
I adapted young to these overwhelming feelings by simply shutting them down and becoming very practical. I was vigilant about keeping things neat, clean and always in their proper place. I did all my school assignment exactly as directed to do. I read during recess instead of playing with other kids because I didn’t want to get caught up in the moment of play and forget to keep my guard up.
As an adult, I found ways to use my creative spirit but only in attempts to help other people with their dreams and desires, not my own. Following my own path meant I would need to feel. Slowly I began to be able to occasionally control my environment enough that I could squeeze in some of my desires like home birthing my kids or studying healing arts. But the older I got, the harder this became. I found myself “blindsided” one too many times when I became enthralled in my dreams and let down my guard.
Empirical AND Practical
At some point a light bulb went off in my head and I began to wonder if I could do both, be logical and feel at the same time. Over the past several years I have been experimenting and observing what that looks and feels like. I can’t say I have perfected it but I have found a way to turn an “or” into an “and” and that feels good to me. It also has some very useful results in how I am able to incorporate my studies with my natural energies.
Is there somewhere in your life you can turn an OR into an AND? Does it feel good to do that? If it does, keep doing it. Find more AND more places to use this technique.
