“There is a Fountain of Youth: It is your Mind, your Talents, the Creativity you bring to your Life and the Lives of People you Love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
~ Sophia Loren ~
There is a ‘creative question' at the end of my application for 1:1 High Performance Coaching that prospective clients fill out before working with me. If you believe that we are all eternal “Spiritual Beings” who are just temporarily living now in “Human Bodies”…**
(** It is still great to let your imagination out to play once in a while, no matter WHAT your beliefs are!)
Here's the question.
“If you could be re-incarcerated as an animal, what animal would you choose to be and WHY?”
I thought it would be interesting to see how some of my friends answered the question, so I typed it out and then copy / pasted it to a few different people in a text. The answers that came back were interesting… especially their reasons “why.” This “why” part paints a picture of the deep “inner essence” of the person answering the question. And the answers were as varied, unique, and fascinating as the people who sent them!
Here's what the people closest to me replied:
Cat. Always safe and warm indoors, lay in the sun and stretch and snooze, jump in a lap if I want affection, nobody expects anything of me…no ball chasing, don't have to come when called if I darn well don't want to…..nobody has any expectations of you when you're a cat!!
Dolphin. Social. Lives in water. Just fun. They love to laugh.
Tiger. It runs fast but stays the same.
Cat. Cuddles. Sleeps a lot. 9 lives.
Deer. I love them and how gentle they are.
Beaver. Because I love the water but I like land too. I can go in my dam when I need some peace and quiet. And I can change the environment just by being me and doing what I do in that environment.
Lion. They appear cuddly, and fun when there little.. They grow to be strong amazing beautiful creatures . In control. Not many will pick on a lion – she can hold her own . Lion or an owl – a beautiful snowy owl. Again because they are in control.
Deer because they're graceful and sleek.
Another Human!
(Surprisingly, this answer was given by BOTH my husband and youngest son, independently of each other! -and no one else thought of a human as an “animal”?!-)
Either a bird or a fish because I feel like I've explored land enough, and those two animals would enrich my experience.
Kangaroo. I admire its strength. I don’t consider myself to be very athletic so to have strength in my legs for jumping and motion would be a new trait for me!
Dog. Not just ANY dog, but one of MY dogs 'cause They've Got the Life!
A tiger because they are beautiful gentle elegant and powerful, yet still soft and cuddly.
A bird: Cardinal. because they’re free and can fly.
My first thought was to be an Eagle to be able to see so much as I swooped through the sky… but I’d rather come back as “my cat”, eating duck paté and sleeping on the heated foyer floor with the sun beaming on me, and snuggling every morning into a warm cushy bed.
Polar bear. They have no natural enemies, are always curious, family oriented, and playful. They are also staunchly, independent, and afraid of nothing.
Crow or Raven. They’re super smart and make the best out of Garbage. And to hang out with a “MURDER” of crows? You can’t beat that kinda street cred!
Then there are people in my life who have obviously already deeply pondered this question!
A butterfly or an owl:
A butterfly is a deep and powerful representation of Life. Many cultures associate the butterfly with our souls. The Christian religion sees the butterfly as a symbol of resurrection. Around the world, people view the butterfly as representing endurance, change, hope, and life.
Owls symbolize: Intuition, ability to see what others do not see, the capacity to see beyond deceit and masks worn by others, and wisdom. The traditional meaning of the owl spirit animal is the announcer of “death”, most likely symbolic of a “life transition”. The presence of the owl announces “change”.
And the most surprising answer that caused me to literally ” Roll On the Floor Laughing” came from my Spanish friend…who often says his English is “not so good”!
Here is what he said…”I don't want to be re-incarcerated under any circumstance 😂 . First of all I've never BEEN incarcerated. Or do you mean ‘reincarnated'?”
He's absolutely right! You can scroll back up to the top to check for yourself. Thank you “Auto Correct” for adding some humor to my life, once again!
I had copy and pasted that exact question to SO many people, and he's the ONLY one who read it properly! My friends and family who are quoted in this article will no doubt scroll back to my question in their texts to double check THERE for themselves too. No chicanery intended, I swear!
So…
New Creative Thinking question for you (or… not so ‘new' after all!)
“If you could be re-INCARCERATED as an animal, what animal would you choose to be and WHY?”
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After careful consideration here's what I would choose…
A Cockroach….
They have a hard shell and don't care in the slightest what others ‘think of them'; they just go about their own business, doing whatever it is that they do best.
When we lived in Indonesia, I'd occasionally encounter a cockroach and would quickly take off one of my flip-flops to give it a good smack! The cockroach would be completely flattened. Then…in the time it would take me to go get a tissue to clean up the mess…the cockroach would somehow have “pulled itself together” and hobbled off before I got back. (They don't let “adversities” stop them from getting ON with their lives.)
The saying goes, “There's never just ONE cockroach.” Therefore, you'd always have family and friends around to support you. And a cockroach can quickly and easily, without hesitation, get “out” of really small and tricky situations. So ultimately, it could never be “re-incarcerated” for long!
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Let your creativity and imagination out to play for a bit today!
And if you really want to have some fun, send that text to the people YOU know. I'm feeling YOUNGER already!
