If humans are like ecosystems, some are like the rainforest, says psychotherapist and author Paula Prober. People with a Rainforest Mind (RFM) are highly complex, sensitive, and intuitive. They may be effervescent, intense, colourful, and they may be the most misunderstood. Here, Paula Prober paints us a picture: life as seen by a rainforest mind.
Image thanks to Pexels, Arnie Chou
Do people tell you to lighten up when you are just trying to enlighten them? When others see white, do you see ecru, beige, sand, and eggshell? Do you find itchy clothes, strong smells, clashing colours and bad architecture overwhelming? But also by angry strangers, needy friends, breathtaking sunsets, glorious symphonies, and global suffering?
Do you spend hours seeking the exact word, the right note, the perfect gift? The finest colour, the most meaningful discussion, or the deepest connection? Do you find deciding about your future career and what colour to paint the bedroom equally daunting? If you answered yes to most of these questions, then, you may have a Rainforest Mind (RFM). Does it matter if you know this? You bet it does.
Sensitive and a lot more
Rainforest-minded people (RFMs) are highly sensitive, intuitive, creative, idealistic, and quite smart. They have many varied interests and abilities. They might care deeply about justice and social issues, and hold very high standards for themselves. Even though they are quite intellectually gifted, RFMs may not perform well in school. This might happen if they are not challenged, if they are anxious, or if they are over-thinking tests.
These souls are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed by others and themselves. Because it is often wrongly assumed that smart people are all high achievers who excel with ease. There may also be confusion over whether they are actually so bright if they have difficulty making decisions. Maybe because they can think of so many possible variables or outcomes, that making choosing one thing difficult. For this population, often, the simple is complex and the complex is simple. Thus, they may avoid mundane tasks and yearn for complexity.
Finding the puzzle pieces
People may have called you a know-it-all, a geek, or an over-thinker. Others may have misdiagnosed you with OCD, ADHD, or even bipolar disorder. People may have told you that you think too much. That you feel too much, and that you know too much. If you can realise your ‘too muchness’ is a result of a deeply sensitive, capable, and unique personhood, you might be able to find your voice and purpose in this wild world. Instead of misinterpreting your anxiety or depression or loneliness to mean you are a slacker, a weirdo, or a freak.
Granted, you may have grown up in a dysfunctional family. One that has distorted your self-understanding and from which you developed anxiety and depression. It is possible you may have trouble relating to other humans for many reasons. But, even so, finding this particular piece of your puzzle can make a huge difference.
“If you can realise your ‘too muchness’ is a result of a deeply sensitive, capable, and unique personhood, you might be able to find your voice and purpose in this wild world.”
Children are like ecosystems
I developed the rainforest mind metaphor many years ago when I was a teacher in the public schools. I was teaching gifted children who were pulled out of their regular classes. It was done so they might experience an advanced curriculum based on their particular interests. And so they could spend time with each other and get support for their particular social and emotional needs. Teachers were not particularly thrilled that I was taking these children out of their classes, and I wanted to explain giftedness to them.
I came up with the metaphor as a way to suggest that if children are like ecosystems, some are like deserts, meadows, tundra, and so on. All ecosystems are valuable and beautiful. One is not better than another. The rainforest ecosystem is just the most complex, intense, colourful, sensitive, and creative, and may be the most misunderstood. We are destroying our rainforests, even though they provide much-needed oxygen and essential resources. It might sound overstated, but we are misunderstanding and hurting our gifted children and adults when we are not providing for their particular needs and traits. When we are not letting them thrive.
Sensitive: Manuelle, Carlos and Annelise too
Take Manuelle, for example. At 16, Manuelle talked and thought at warp speed. She loved debate, chemistry, art, philosophy, music, anthropology, and more. Already reading at age four, she loved writing lengthy stories about mythological creatures when she was eight. She loved learning, but teachers told her “no one likes a know-it-all,” and to not work ahead. To wait until the other students caught up to her. Manuelle preferred mathematics to Instagram. She had exceptionally high standards for her work, and engaged in endless research when she was interested in a topic.
Then there was Carlos, 34. Open-hearted, sensitive and smart, he struggled in school to memorise multiplication facts and manage his anxiety during tests. He was in and out of college for 15 years without graduating, changing majors several times as he had so many interests. He couldn’t choose just one career path. People told Carlos to tone down his enthousiasm and hide his deep emotions. He was a self-taught IT expert. He was also distraught over the way humans were wasting natural resources and ignoring climate change.
And Annelise. At 53, she had never found a lasting partnership. Her knowledge of biology, art, feminism and mythology was vast and deep. She longed for a partner who could follow her musings and not be overwhelmed by her effervescence. Her difficulty was with simplifying her communication with others. She didn’t realise that what was obvious to her wasn’t always clear to anyone else. Mentors were always a disappointment. She found solace in her powerful spiritual connection to nature.
“She longed for a partner who could follow her musings and not be overwhelmed by her effervescence.”
To live like the rainforest
These are examples of humans I have known with Rainforest Minds. They all told me they felt like they were not enough and too much at the same time. Even though they were all highly intelligent, sensitive, and intuitive.
When they began to understand that their painful experiences were the result of their Rainforest Minds, and not due to their lazy dysfunctional arrogant craziness, they started to blossom. To feel confidence. To meet companions. To speak out more fully. To find purpose. To discover meaning. To make the world a better place.
To live like the thriving rainforest: in peace, grace, balance, and beauty, and in support of all beings on the planet.
About the author
Paula Prober is a psychotherapist and author from the USA. She blogs at Your Rainforest Mind to support the ‘excessively curious, creative, smart, and sensitive.’ She consults with gifted adults and parents of gifted children internationally.
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