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Powers of perception
Aug. 20th, 2004 03:21 amRecently, I've been considering some things I've been told about myself. Specifically, about how perceptive I am.
In my lifetime I've had many people, mostly adults, tell me that I'm pretty perceptive, or that I "get inside heads," or that I "read minds," or that I "see things other people don't." Or, in a few cases when I was younger, they just looked at me in amazement and said, "Yeah..." when I voiced some observations about people.
In sixth grade, my teacher sat me down and had a long, serious discussion with me about - I shit you not - using my "powers" for good. She compared my powers of perception to Superman's strength, and pointed out how Superman must not allow himself to cause lasting harm to anyone, even if he gets angry. She told me that it was much the same thing - I have the ability to sense someone's weakest points, but I should take care not to let anger get the better of me and cause them lasting pain by attacking said weak points.
It all sounds so corny, but I believe that conversation did me a lot of good. In the following years, I found out just how hard to can be to be a "Superman" and be obligated to keep the things you know to yourself. Especially when someone is not being so careful of your feelings, it seems so easy to hit them where it really hurts - but I began to think of myself as grass, bending with the wind. When the wind stops blowing, and re-evaluates the direction it is traveling in, the grass still stands, and watches the wind.
So...
I've generally gotten the idea that I am, if not exactly a seer, at least relatively astute.
( The problem is that this does not jibe with the way I frequently deal with people )
In my lifetime I've had many people, mostly adults, tell me that I'm pretty perceptive, or that I "get inside heads," or that I "read minds," or that I "see things other people don't." Or, in a few cases when I was younger, they just looked at me in amazement and said, "Yeah..." when I voiced some observations about people.
In sixth grade, my teacher sat me down and had a long, serious discussion with me about - I shit you not - using my "powers" for good. She compared my powers of perception to Superman's strength, and pointed out how Superman must not allow himself to cause lasting harm to anyone, even if he gets angry. She told me that it was much the same thing - I have the ability to sense someone's weakest points, but I should take care not to let anger get the better of me and cause them lasting pain by attacking said weak points.
It all sounds so corny, but I believe that conversation did me a lot of good. In the following years, I found out just how hard to can be to be a "Superman" and be obligated to keep the things you know to yourself. Especially when someone is not being so careful of your feelings, it seems so easy to hit them where it really hurts - but I began to think of myself as grass, bending with the wind. When the wind stops blowing, and re-evaluates the direction it is traveling in, the grass still stands, and watches the wind.
So...
I've generally gotten the idea that I am, if not exactly a seer, at least relatively astute.
( The problem is that this does not jibe with the way I frequently deal with people )
