Spirit Animals
We’ve all seen those Facebook quizzes — “What’s Your Spirit Animal?”
… And to be honest, I’ve played into that plot hole more times than I care to admit.
Each ending has been different: wolf, snake, bear, rabbit, owl…. *insert obscure North American Wildlife here*
Over the course of a few months, I have pondered “That person is my spirit animal.”
*That person* has been a number of people for whom I have great admiration and adoration. I see myself emulating them because of their zest for life.
So here’s a couple of my *real* spirit animals:
A lovely lady at work who has the biggest IDGAF attitude ever, yet is a caring ‘work mother’ that holds our group together.
Like seriously… she’s been with the company for so long, she could get away with murder and her smile would absolve her of any malicious intent. Her optimistic nature and ability to learn lessons from mistakes can help you forget that you’re having a shit-tastic day. She has secrets that she won’t even share until she retires. Yet, she brags about her wine bar consul in her vehicle, being adamant about recycling, and sharing just the right amount of TMI to make you shudder and be jealous at the same time. She refuses to learn that there is an easy way in Excel to click and drag content down a row (instead of typing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again), and probably has never worn a bra in her life. Her Spring Break stories will put any Summer Song Anthem to shame. At company parties, she can “puke and rally” but in her case it’s “nap and rally”. She is the zest and zeal that I aspire to have in half a century. And she makes some bomb ass noms for us, despite her lack of sense of smell!
BadYogi
She is the yoga brand I aspire to build for myself…. If only I had begun taking yoga more seriously when I was younger. I see so much of myself in her — do yoga, go home, watch Netflix, munch on cheese and drink good wine. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t be a yoga snob who sells the “How to prep for a handstand!” online guide. Yoga is an outlet for people to learn how to be comfortable in their own skin and test the limits of your own body. Yoga is for everyone! From the super flexible to the super stiff. And those who post intricate or challenging poses on Instagram (after hundreds of tries for the perfect shot) have egos bigger than their fan base. BadYogi keeps it real and has some awesome videos!
In a sense, I feel like I embody her quite well by offering yoga classes in a Cat Cafe. Having cats wandering around and sharing your mat space already breaks the ice for people who wouldn’t normally walk into a traditional yoga studio. The non-pretentious atmosphere and not having to know what your chakras or mudras are provide for a welcoming experience for those who just want to pet cats and awaken the mind-body awareness.
My mother
Yep. It may be cliche, but the older I get, the more I realize I am exactly like my mom personality-wise, while on the outside I look like my dad’s daughter.
She’s hard working, overly kind, assertive, and has the ability to find joy in life’s simplicities. Okay, so *Overly Kind* wouldn’t be the first adjective used to describe me (more like: bitchy, sarcastic, ’told you so’ attitude)… but I’d like to think that I’ve inherited my mother’s tenacity, and appreciation for the things in life that are often forgotten. My mom is one of the few person’s who I can go with for wine tasting then get shitfaced and giggle our way into not driving ourselves home. She’s defied gender stereotype mom roles since before it was mainstream… #hipstermom. For example- she knows how to operate power tools, remodel a bathroom, shoot a gun, and refurbish a musty old piece of barn wood. She taught me that it’s okay to be a tomboy and love the color pink. She taught me to accept my weirdness; as long as I’m happy and not harming myself or others. Fuck what other people think about you. Although she never said those exact words to me, her actions were implied. She didn’t care that I went through the phases: emo, grunge, punk, pop-punk, girly punk, snobbish, country, sporty, and now humble, wholesome, genuinely me. I suppose we all could benefit from parents who let their kids explore what felt right, what didn’t work out, and what makes us unique in order to find our happiness.
She’s the mother who invites stragglers to holiday get-togethers, and has extra presents tucked away for just such occasions. She believes in ‘Pizza Sundays’ for family Sunday get-togethers and is always prepared with the good, homemade stuff. And if it’s summertime, expect it to be fire-roasted in her outdoor pizza oven! Although it may be easy to fault her that BudLight is her ‘go-to’ beer, she enjoys trying out the micro-crafts or regional beers which different venues have to offer!
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So maybe this blog could be titled “People who inspire me” … but I feel like I embody a little piece of each of the aforementioned above. While these people do inspire me, they inspire me to be the most genuine version of myself. And I think that’s the takeaway here. I want to be the best version of myself that I can be…. Now if only I can channel the ability to wake up between 5–6am every day 😉 Then I would truly be living the best version of myself, despite the hardships of being a millennial.