Sensitivity - a Gift or a Curse?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

I would like to define sensitivity as the ability to perceive the subtle undercurrents that accompany an act of expression- verbal or non-verbal. There are some people who are naturally attuned to receive such signals emanating from the communicator as usually go unnoticed by many others. When such people share their perceptions with others, they are usually regarded as nitpickers or those having over-imaginative mind. The question that arises is whether the extra-sensitivity of such people a gift or a curse?


The answer perhaps lies in how one uses one’s special endowments from God. Like every other talent, this particular talent could be used both creatively as well as destructively.


Gautam Buddha, by virtue of his extreme sensitivity towards misery brought about by disease, old age and death, tried to search for the reasons why suffering existed in human life, and through deep meditation attained enlightenment about the cycle of cause and effect that entraps all living beings. He then preached non-violence and compassion as the only way of life that can rid us of the eternal cycle of life and death.


Sensitivity can be a curse for those who remain entangled in the emotional web created around them by their perceptions. It can be a gift only for those who learn to rise above their troubled emotions and discover an immense potential for creativity hidden behind the smokescreen of personal grief.