As I was sick in bed all last week, I had to post-pone the Vision-Action Board (and dancing) get together last night until next Saturday.
Henry, my sweet boy.
But when I wasn’t sleeping last week I continued to read a variety of books, one of which is The Happiness Project that I mentioned in the last post. In one short section the author writes about symoblism and animal totems. And that got me thinking about what animals I am drawn to. Besides my wonderful cats and my recently passed dog, what types of animals draw my attention more than others and why.
Although as a child when asked what animal you’d like to be I would always say either a Cheetah or a Falcon. But reflecting on their qualities and passions, they didn’t seem to fit me today. Both of those animals are a bit more solitary than I like to be.
So I googled some keywords and found a few sites that offer quizzes indicating your animal totem. The animal that I had the most likeness to is the Wolf. It is a social, caring, protective animal that according to Native American Legends is considered to be loyal, has perseverance, is successful, has intuition and spirit.
That sounds nice. Although I love furry creatures and wolves are majestic, proud and strong, I don’t feel a strong connection to them.
So then I started thinking about animals that I have seen in the wild that draw my attention more than others, which ones give me a thrill every time I see them, and those that I seek out.
Me feeding baby Cha’im, infant Howler Monkey, Guatemala
After going through the exotic animals, monkeys in particular, as I have had some lovely experiences with them in the wild, I looked closer to home, to the exotic (at least to me) in my area of the world.
And I have to say, as I did so my animal flashed before my eyes. In my mind, but it was there hovering quietly and I could see it as clear as day. It was thrilling.
Every time I see them I get a tingling, a jolt of happiness, a must-stop-and-stare moment of pure pleasure. I just knew this had to be my animal. So I immediately got back online and looked up Hummingbirds.
And to my happy surprise they hold wonderful meanings – depending on which site and which culture you read through – but the general, over-arching belief is that they bring, offer, exude the following:
Their wings beat in a figure 8 motion – or the symbol for eternity. They are very social, strong minded, independent, work hard… and they build the cutest little nests that they camouflage with lichen or moss.
So I feel good about my totem. The symbolism surrounding Hummingbirds resonates with me. So with that I decided that I would start to bring hummingbird images into my life. Slowly, choosing only the ones that I simply can’t resist. I’m not into clutter, so a collection over a long period of time, that adds rather than fills up.
It just so happens that my first piece came to me yesterday. I was out, feeling a tiny bit more energy for the first time, and was early to meet a friend for a movie so decided to wander through some shops. I am attracted to beautiful, rich colors ( I really should live in Mexico) and was looking through some fun dishes and couldn’t believe it, but I found this:
So my collection and devotion has begun.
Every thought about what animal is your symbol, your totem, your guide? I would love to hear. Write a comment and let me know.
So my collection and devotion has begun.
