childhood
Birth Order And The Empath
Most of us are familiar with the notion that the personality traits of the firstborn are typically different from the middle sibling, or the youngest child in the family, and so on. But many empaths do not realize how they may be impacted by their birth order in the family.
In The Birth Order Book, author Kevin Lemar gives a detailed outline of these so-called ‘birth order’ characteristics and qualities.
Firstborns, as well as only children, for example, are often associated with leadership attributes and stronger personalities, along with being more protective, fearless, and reliable than their siblings. However, the firstborn may also exhibit some less desirable traits, such as being controlling, bossy and impatient.
The middle-born tend to be social butterflies and peacekeepers, who are focused on fairness and keeping everyone happy. The youngest-born tend to be fun-loving, outgoing, creative, free spirited and can be adept at manipulating others to do things for them.
Only children tend to be mature for their age, perfectionistic and conscientious, but may feel the burden of high parental expectations.
The Firstborn Empath
My experience with empaths has been that the firstborn and only child empaths are indeed more protective, fearless, independent, reliable, but in the empath these protective instincts are magnified tenfold.
They also tend to feel it is their responsibility to solve every human problem and protect everyone around them, regardless. I often see a very enhanced sense of responsibility.
Honoring Our Fathers And Forefathers
In our youth we easily forget to honor those fathers and father-figures who love and guide us. As we grow older, and hopefully wiser, some of us begin to realize that our fathers are the unsung heroes we never appreciated much. If we are one of the lucky ones, they were our champions growing up.
Always stalwart and steady, no matter what was going on around them or preying on their minds. How often must they have ended their day wondering whether they were doing enough for their families and what the future might hold?
After the fact, sometimes they openly share the worries, fears and insecurities that became all too real in times of crisis, but these challenges were carefully hidden from us, so as not to frighten us.
For those of us who have fathers who fought in wars for our freedom, we owe a great debt of gratitude. These courageous men who may have been terrified in the face of grave danger, fought bravely for their beliefs and the safety of their families. Many were lost or injured. Most returned home, greatly changed. And yet, we rarely heard about the realities of war, or their sacrifices.
Striking a balance between strength and vulnerability is a never-ending work in progress. Blessed is the man who finds his equilibrium with a calm, cool demeanor in the midst of the chaos that surrounds them. Blessed also are the children who call him “Dad.”
To the men who have acted as leaders and mentors to many protégés, perhaps without even knowing it, a great deal is owed. Whether it has been through leadership in business, teaching in schools, or volunteering in communities, many have no idea how deeply they have affected those whose lives they have touched, even peripherally.
The Extraordinary Treasure Of The Ordinary
It is unfortunate that so often tend to take the ordinary for granted. Ordinary things that we do not consider unusual or special is seldom something we excited about. But the very things that one person might consider ordinary, is a magical treasure to another.
When I was about six years old, I remember being at the ocean looking at some beach roses, when a butterfly landed on one of the roses right in front of me. Even at that age, I intuitively knew this was somehow a special and significant sign. My dearly departed grandmother used to love beach roses and butterflies. I did not know it at the time, but right then and there these two things became my future mediumship symbols for someone’s grandmother in spirit.
I thought it was the most beautiful butterfly I had seen in my young life! I was excited to have my sister see and experience the beauty of it, so I called her over. To my surprise she shrugged and said, “No big deal. I see butterflies like that all the time.”
Her cynical reaction took some of the joy out of the experience for me at the time. At that young age, my older sister’s opinion on things mattered a great deal to me. But I have grown wiser over the years.
Later in life, I could not help but wonder why my sister did not see the world as I did in those days? The answer that eventually came to me was that it is all in the timing. It is about what is going on in our life at a given moment in time. One day we may look at things a certain way and not really see them as beautiful or anything special, while on another day we might be thrilled and amazed by the exact same things.
For example, we frequently travel the coastal road in my area. One day last summer, at the height of the pandemic, we were slowly driving along this road. with no rush to be anywhere at a designated time. Normally we would be in a hurry to get somewhere, but due to Covid-19 there was nowhere urgent where we needed to be.
Put Down The Phone And Start Living
I used to walk around the lake in the small town where I used to live. It was a picturesque hike that took you all the way around a large body of water that fed into the lake.
It was also a popular camping ground. Many city folks came to our little rural town to camp. Day after day, I saw them walking their dogs around the campsite, or relaxing on the park benches overlooking the water.
But nobody seemed to be appreciating much of the beauty of the natural surroundings. No, they were all too busy looking down at their phones!
In the good old days, people used to love breathing the fresh air, watching the children playing, looking for baby lizards on the sunbaked rocks, admiring a newlywed bride dancing on the beach, or marveling at the curious formations of the clouds above. These many beautiful nuances and subtleties in the world around us, are what make life joyful and precious.
Sadly, even seeing people walk their dogs saddens me these days. Everyone appears to be obsessed with their phones only. The dog owners hardly notice their own dogs, never mind anything else around them. They miss out on their dogs’ cute moments of joy and excitement.
Someday, when their dog is no longer around, they might regret missing these precious moments. So many lost opportunities and forfeited memories. Or maybe they will still just be staring at their phone.
Once, I saw a couple at the lake. They were also campers. They were lounging by the water, with their chairs far apart. Of course, this was of no concern to them, because they were both far too busy on their phones to even notice.
I’m sure they were posting pictures they took in front of the lake on social media. By the time they leave, they would have only those photos, but no real experiences or memories of ever being there. They were not at the lake, they were in cyberspace – the cell phone rabbit hole.
The Old-Fashioned Ways Of The Good Ol’ Days
I grew up the old-fashioned way. I remember my grandparents would talk around the family table about the time when they were young. Listening to them was more interesting than reading a history book. It made me wonder how they managed to survive in those days, living a simple life off the land, growing their crops and later owning their very first black and white television set.
My grandmother was also a psychic and she was a firm believer that gifts from the souls from the past can be handed down to generations, to help others and give them a sense of what life truly has to offer. She taught me that we can learn from the past and the wisdom of the lessons learned by those who came before us.
Thinking of my grandparents makes me nostalgic for the good old days of the old-fashioned psychics. Back then they did not use the radio or TV, and much less the Internet and social media, to promote their psychic services. People usually came to psychics through word-of-mouth and personal recommendations, not YouTube and Instagram.
Fortunately, referrals remains one good practice from the past that continues to this day, and it has not changed all that much, despite all the new technology. Like the old days, if you give someone a good reading and ‘rock their world,’ next thing you know their friends are also calling to get a psychic reading from you.
I guess not all that much has changed from the old days? The only difference that new technology brought is the great opportunity psychics now have to reach so many more people all over the world. It enables us to touch the lives of many that would not have been possible in the old days.