Usually when we hear the word 'angel', we instantly start imagining a heavenly young female creature with wings, flying out from a sky full of clouds with a strong ray of sunlight behind, for the purpose of healing and bringing blessings and wisdom in our lives. We see the same interpretation in books, paintings, movies, performances and pretty much any source of art.
But I think what we need right now, to understand this concept, is a different and possibly better perspective. I understand the fact that the traditional definition of an angel comes from a religious background, but what if somehow we were able to change the very interpretation of this word without changing the actual value it holds for us?
Crazy idea, I know, but the question remains, can we in fact make it happen? Now just fyi, I'm not really someone who believes in mythical creatures, but the way I see it, angels exist not just in books, but in people. I know that for some of you, angels might be too strong of a word, so let's use 'empaths' for simplicity. If you look up the Google definition of an empath, it says:
A person with the paranormal ability to perceive the mental or emotional state of another individual.
In simple words, an empath is a person who holds the enhanced ability to feel what other people are feeling, and perceive things from their point of view by putting themself in others' shoes. Now for the sake of this article, we're going to skip all the hypercritical and controversial crap and get straight to the point, because there's already been a lot of misunderstandings between the two terminologies, HSPs (highly sensitive person) and empaths.
At first, you might not see a clear correlation between angels and empaths. But as I said, all we need is a different perspective. If you have read some of my previous articles, you know that empathy is not a word I take lightly. To me, it's almost a superpower. A superpower that probably all of us have but sadly only few of us actually use.
In religious texts, it's often portrayed that angels are the natural healers sent from heaven and that they make appearances in our human world and grant us the favor of feelings of overwhelming joy and bliss. Now keeping that in mind, try to compare it with the experiences in your life that you shared with someone who understood you to the level no one else ever did, and you'll instantly start to see a clear picture.
If you were able to recall that someone, you will start to notice how profoundly one resembles the other. The people that you are close to, ones who genuinely care about you and are worried about your well-being, and choose to delay their work just so they can spend their time with you, are the people who in my honest opinion, are truly worthy of being called angels.
People who just want to see other people happy and don't care about their own happiness, though being incredibly vulnerable, are the most valuable gifts of our world. The sad part is, their innocence becomes their own doom. I'm sure you guys have noticed this too at some point in your life that (generally) people who care more, lose more.
But that's just half the truth. People like these sure have more to lose, but they also have more to live for. They feel greater levels of compassion, intimacy, sense of purpose, attraction, fulfillment and pretty much every other thing that makes for a meaningful life. If an empath learns when to and when not to serve other people, it becomes almost impossible to manipulate them.
Have you ever confessed something to someone even if you were clearly not expecting any kind of reassurance from them and to your surprise, found them to be exactly like you and how they too have been through everything you have? If you haven't, let me tell you, that feeling is beyond remarkable. It simply can't be put into words.
Just the mere fact that someone has seen, heard, felt and suffered the same things that you have is enough to make a strong unspoken bond between the two of you. But that bond can't be made unless both of you are empathetic. This is the reason why narcissists are never able to make deep and fulfilling connections with anyone; they are limited to their own pride.
The truth is, we need these 'angels' as much as they need us. They want to help, and we need help; we all need someone in our lives who would give us hope when everything around us is falling apart. We might never become like them, but we can try; we might never be able to appreciate them as much as they deserve, but sometimes all that we need, is a different perspective.