*I found this beautiful Multi Modal presentation of this poem on Youtube, recited and made by a young girl. It touched my heart that she picked that poem. You can see it HERE.

The words that you read in this poem above is what I heard a lot as a child and sometimes in my adult life. I heard often that I was too sensitive, or too emotional, etc. In some ways there is still in me a little bit of this feeling that maybe I need to work on being tougher, on being less sensitive. So when I read Daniell Koepke's quote, it felt as Daniell was speaking to me, like she was responding to this poem, and I wanted to share it with you:

"Despite what you may have been taught, your sensitivity doesn’t make you weak. It doesn’t make you too emotional, too soft, or in any way too much.
It has always been and will always be a strength. The truth is that you can be soft and still be strong. You aren’t a rock, immune to the shift and pull of the world around you. You’re the ocean. Always ebbing and flowing; easily affected by the moon and the weather. But immense and deep. Resilient and powerful. Bounding with life. Yes, you feel things intensely and yes, you’re easily wounded by others. But it’s the intensity of your feelings that gives you such incredible insight into who you are and what you need to feel whole. It’s that intensity that makes you deeply connected to yourself and the world around you. And it’s your wounds that allow you to be empathetic and compassionate towards the wounds of others. Wounds that give you an awareness to recognize when people are hurting, and tools to offer support in ways that less sensitive people might not be able to. I know that it’s so hard to believe in the moment when you feel incapacitated by your feelings, but your sensitivity is a truly a gift. Don’t let anyone, including yourself, convince you otherwise."
                         — Daniell Koepke

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