Protecting My Spirit

I love the movies. I love to be swept away in the fantasy, drama, comedy, and stories, true or fictional. I enjoy it even more since I found a handy little tool a couple years ago that helps me protect my sensitivity.

I’ve always been a highly sensitive person. As a young child, I cried – a lot. Or so it seemed. Not for any good or bad reason, but for both. I just really let my emotions come out. Then I learned that not everyone in the world is so willing to hear you cry as often as you’d like or need to, so I told myself that it was better to keep it to myself. But all that did was shape a belief that feelings are bad.

As I grew up, I learned to see my sensitivity as a real gift; a gift that allows me to be empathetic to others’ struggles, fears, and accomplishments; a gift that led me to the work I do today.

While it’s wonderful to be back in tune with and connected to my sensitivity, it also means needing to find ways to protect that part of me that feels things deeply and intensely; something that can be difficult to do while you’re sitting in a movie theater with all sorts of extreme imagery being shown on a gigantic screen!

Enter the nifty tool – the Parents’ Guide on the International Movie Database website. Interested in seeing a particular movie, but not sure how violent it is? The Parents’ Guide will tell you. Is the latest teen movie a bit too risque for your son or daughter? The Parents’ Guide will let you know. This great, little-known, feature details exactly how many instances of violence there are and what form they take, same with sexual scenes, cursing, and more.

Now, when someone recommends a movie or I see a preview that intrigues me, I’m always sure to check the guide in honor of protecting that wonderful, sensitive part of me that makes up so much of who I am.

What types of things do you do to protect your sensitivity? To take care of your soul’s needs?

Photo by BonoO