When I look up at the sky at night I see a vast space filled with twinkling stars. I, being an empath, envy all that space.
I’m an empath. I’m also a neuro-diverse person. I sense things that others do not. One of things that I sense is space—or the lack thereof.
In social situations I become most uncomfortable when I am around people whose presence takes up too much space. This usually happens when the person or people involved believe that they are more important than everyone else around.
I’m not talking about the people who light up a room. Those people are usually fine because while their presence may enliven an event it doesn’t stifle it. They shine while letting others shine. They give others space.
I write often, through my character Jellybean, about making space for others. I do this because I am one of those people who feel stifled by people as well as our current societal “decorum.”
People in the closet, people who can’t breathe, people shunned, marginalized and ignored.
Our society—despite our deepest held beliefs—is built on idealism but it is far from ideal. Our society doesn’t make much room for people who don’t fit into its idealized view of things.
In mysticism there’s a concept of tzimtzum. This is where the Inifite contracted itself in order to make room for the finite (aka the universe and us).
I believe that society needs a bit of revisioning. Old ideas need to contract in order to make room for new ways of viewing things.
This is where those who are currently left out come in. For our society to move forward, space is needed for the new ideas to flourish. Room is needed for the ghosts haunting the fringes of society to be embodied—to have a presence, to be heard.
It’s time for our world to transform from being a place of a few blinding beacons into one where the twinkling lights of all our souls have space to shine.
—Tessla, Lost Soul Found
