“Balance,” Jordan said flatly.
“Balance?” she asked.
Her question hung in the air for a few uncomfortable seconds. “Yeah, balance,” Jordan repeated. An awkward silence followed until Jordan finally broke it. “You know, balance. As in go with the flow, easy come-easy go, grin and bear it, roll with the punches. Balance.”
“Balance,” she said. “And how do you achieve balance?”
“I strive to maintain an even keel,” Jordan answered. She stared back at him until he continued. “I try to avoid life’s high highs and low lows.”
“How’s that working out for you? she asked.
“Um, okay I guess. I know a lot of people who are all bipolar and manic depressive and things like that,” he said. “But I’m not like that. I’m easy going. I never get really depressed or anything. I try to steer clear of emotional extremes so that I can maintain balance. That’s good, right?”
“Are you happy?” she asked.
“Happy? Yeah, I guess. I’m content.”
“Content?” She jotted something down on her notepad. “Do you ever experience joy?”
“Joy? I suppose I do. Sometimes. Not very often. But I also don’t ever feel really down, either. As I said, I work hard to avoid the low lows even if it means having to sacrifice the high highs.”
“I think you may be paying too great a price by insulating yourself from the intensity of your feelings.”
“Well, I am who I am and I see no reason to change,” Jordan said with some irritation in his voice. “I may not be a highly emotional guy, but I’m in balance.”
He stood up, put on his jacket, and walked to her office door. “And the only thing I’m paying too great a price for, doctor, are these weekly bullshit sessions of ours.”
“Well, Jordan, it’s good to know that you can at least feel anger,” she said just before he slammed the door shut.
This post is for this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, which is to use the words “high” and/or “low” in the post. Thanks to Linda G. Hill.
This, That, and the Other 
Haha.. Now that’s a price no one is willing to pay..
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People that insulate themselves from the intensity of their feelings are probably being too sensitive or showing too much empathy. Sensitive people or empaths have an ability to be emotional sponges this can be heighten when they are at a social event, around co-workers, or in crowds. If empaths are around peace and love, their bodies assimilate these and flourish. Negativity, though, often feels assaultive or exhausting. For empaths to fully enjoy being around others, they must learn to protect their sensitivity and find balance.
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So Jordan must be an empath.
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I am not an expert in phycology and he is your character, however he says that he may, ‘not be a highly emotional guy, but I’m in balance.’ I think that deep down inside that he is emotional, but he does not know it or he is reluctant to admit it.
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Or maybe he’s just a shallow guy and simply doesn’t feel deeply.
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