25 Questions - 2

So a bit of an edit. I just looked at the bottom of the page (as I had ripped it out of the magazine) it is acutally an interview from Vanity Fair magazine. But still I like the questions and so I still will answer one question a day for the next 25 days in order to get motivated to write again. Some answers may be short, maybe others whole essays. I am not sure and am only going to focus on one a day. I invite you to join me by commenting here answering these questions yourself or on your blog and letting me know with a link.

Question #2 ~

What is your greatest fear?

I fear other people's emotions. When I was a child I would take in my parents anger and unhappiness real or percieved and near to drown in it. Other's people pain seemed to seep into me in ways I thought I had no control over. This trait of mine I have worked hard over the many years of my life to turn into something that doesn't overwhelm and isn't a negative. It is still a daily struggle to not let other's negative emotions become mine. A friend in a bad mood and I have to work hard to not take their pain into me. My parents are no longer frightening to me as I can see their pains and struggles and not let the emotions of that overwhelm my own. Empathy is what allows us to be good and right, but when it kicks into overdrive as it has for a lot of my life it can be crippling.