I spent 20+ years building walls around my own heart.

To the people closest to me, I often came across as uncaring, selfish and cold. Thing is, I was terrified of showing I cared. The truth is I was highly highly sensitive and thought if I let my feelings show I’d overwhelm myself and others.

The Latin root of the word emotion is movere, meaning, “to move.” Emotions move energy, they move us to action, AND they move other people. If I show genuine emotion there’s a good chance it will move, or stir something up, in the heart of the person who witnesses me.

Only in the last five years or so have I truly started to realize the value of my sensitivity. Not only is it healthy and totally natural to welcome in all my feelings but I’ve come to believe that showing my feelings is actually a gift I can give to others.

If you find yourself tempted to hold back expressing yourself sometime this week, for fear of making things awkward or uncomfortable, maybe consider this: your expression could be exactly what another person needs to grow, to transform, and to be moved. Your feelings are a gift.