So now we have the seed building blocks, let’s talk “Bright“….
Whether it’s a physical object or referring to the future, the adjective conveys something that stands out and usually has a positive connotation.
- “a bright and curious child”
- “a bright and sunny day”
- “a bright spot in my life”
- “a bright and airy room”
- “shine bright!”
- “the future is bright”
As I was writing this, my thoughts went to music again and so I did a search (which is funny because I am not the music fanatic in my family). I had to stop myself after 15 minutes because I could spend an hour reading articles and watching videos about what it means when a song, headphones or a piano is described as bright, warm, or dark. In general terms, tones on the higher frequency are considered “bright” and are more lively, intense, and sharp.
Lively.
Intense.
Sharp.
I had to laugh out loud when I read that description. Bright Blue Seeds was named after much reflection, but I didn’t even consider the musical meaning but, boy, does that fit. In music, just as in living beings (sensory processing sensitivity is a trait seen in all animals), brightness is a difference that isn’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It exists on a scale and, depending on each situation, bright, brighter, or brightest may be the better fit. If you have not heard the term “overexcitabilities”, a quick search is an eye-opening task and think of how your child fits into the descriptions of each type.
At their core, Highly Sensitive People are intelligent, conscientious, intuitive, and compassionate folks who tend to have a strong idealistic moral compass. They are out-of-the-box creative thinkers.
In fact, look through any publication of ‘Skills That Employers Need’ and emotional intelligence, empathy, creativity, and critical thinking consistently show up. Look familiar? HSP gifts are the exact skills society needs. While on this journey, I came across “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink. Pink makes the case that “We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computerlike capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big-picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age.” The “high concept and high touch” world he discusses is one that HSP’s are designed to thrive in (as long as we don’t overwhelm them and then label them as deficient, but I digress.).
Needless to say, our systems haven’t yet caught up with this viewpoint and our bright, sensitive children are floundering in school. I’ll save a more in-depth discussion for later, but imagine you are feeling everything going on around you, both sensory and emotional, and you have a worldly view of what’s important. It would be very difficult, to say the least, to pay attention to someone talking about a worksheet. This is all besides the fact that the more rational prefrontal cortex part of the brain does not mature until sometime in our 20’s. The grades on the report card don’t accurately reflect their brightness.