"How are you feeling?"
Christine Yi Suh says that this has always been a hard question. She writes: "The more accurate question for a Four may be, 'What aren't you feeling?' I can grab my prevailing emotion and tell you how I'm doing from that emotion's point of view (joy, elation, sadness, grief, confusion—you name it!). I live and breathe a kaleidoscope of living, feeling, conflicting emotions."
Many times Fours are labeled "emotionally intense" or "too much," but for a Four this is just how life is. This is why Fours are ideal companions in the midst difficult times: the death of a loved one, the birth of a baby, transitional seasons in career, relational conflict, and so on.
The Enneagram is a profound tool for empathy, so whether or not you are a Four, you will grow from your reading about Four and enhance your relationships across the Enneagram spectrum. Each reading concludes with an opportunity for further engagement such as a journaling prompt, reflection questions, a written prayer, or a spiritual practice.
Christine Yi Suh is a writer, spiritual director, and pastor. She has previously served as a pastor of spiritual formation and as the assistant director of spiritual formation and care at Pepperdine University. Christine received her MA in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is a graduate of the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. She is a regular contributor to Missio Alliance and the Nine Beats Collective. She and her spouse, David, live with their two children outside of Los Angeles.