Narcissism, egocentrism, not feeling empathy

Narcissism, egocentrism…

Not feeling empathy…

We all have our judgments about it.
We all have opinions.
I often see spiritual posts on my timeline about being the victim of a narcissist.

But what if you are the narcissist?

What if you are often egocentric?
What if you struggle to feel empathy?
What if you are the one on the other side?

I’ve had that label thrown at me more than once.
And I’ve asked myself many times: Am I egocentric?
Am I really that kind of person?

Because the truth is—there are moments I feel no empathy for certain people or situations.
And that often made me feel deeply ashamed.
Why don’t I feel it?
I judged myself hard.

But I discovered this…
You don’t choose to be a narcissist.
You don’t choose to not feel empathy.
It’s not a switch you can just turn on or off.

Beneath all of that is pain.
Deep, deep inner pain.
A thick layer of protection—designed to keep you safe.
A defense mechanism, built to prevent you from ever feeling that unbearable pain again.

And realize this…
Beneath that heavy armor is a loving soul.
Even within the narcissist.
A soul that longs—just like every other soul—for love and connection.
Connection with others, yes.
But also, a deep longing for connection with oneself.

Because if we can’t feel empathy, we can’t fully connect.
Not with others—and not with ourselves.
We’re not just hard on the world—we’re relentlessly hard on ourselves.

There’s so much pain in our system that we unconsciously protect ourselves
from the possibility of ever being hurt like that again.
We shut down our hearts to protect them—
but in doing so, we also block the flow of love.
The flow of empathy.

But I know better than anyone how deep the longing can be—
to feel love.
To experience real connection.
The longing to be accepted by others.
To be seen and embraced by those who’ve made you feel like you’re not enough.
But also, the longing to finally be at peace with yourself.
To find inner calm.

So please remember…
Whether you’re a narcissist,
or someone who struggles with empathy,
or someone who finds it hard to feel love…

You are still a loving soul.
And you deserve to be here.
You deserve to receive love.
No matter how you show up in the world.
No matter what you’ve done.
You don’t have to keep punishing yourself.
You are allowed to forgive yourself.
So that there can be space…
for the loving soul that lives inside of you.

✨ Michel