hyena no more.

For Christmas Santa brought me an Animal Spirit deck, how did he know that’s what I wanted!He’s really clever, that Santa. Every morning I draw a card and read the corresponding page. The cards are pretty and I adore the insights that correspond. You know how you always read a horoscope when you come across one? That’s how I feel about the cards.  

There’s a card reading for ‘who you were, who you are & who you will be’. I did this on January 1st this year. I got the hyena card to represent ‘who I was’. Read the card insight here: 

Hyena - humor, wit, sarcasm 

The Hyena personality is a jokester and crowd pleaser, but below the surface there are unfulfilled dreams to be realized. When the hyena card appears it’s time to reflect on your reliance on sarcasm and humor to express your truth. Are you using jokes to hide old resentments in relationships, or to mask things that you feel uncomfortable discussing? What would happen if you took your goals seriously?

When in balance: charming, witty, fun to be around

When out of balance: scrappy, petty, suspicious 

To bring into balance: sobriety

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Mic drop. Creepy cards. 

Yesterday as part of a class, I had to write down what my spouse, and closest friends, would say were my strengths. I put my sense of humor on the list. After that, I took an online quiz to rank my strengths. Yep, you guessed it. First one, humor. 

On my own, before a card or a quiz or a list of my strengths, I had been telling myself to let go of this coping mechanism. I have been letting go of sarcasm as the default. I have been embracing joie and enthusiasm instead. 

Sarcasm is easy. Sarcasm is lazy. It’s a million times easier to make a joke than lean into awkward. 2 years ago my kid made a joke when we told them something deep. I thought that’s my kid! I’ve got better stuff to teach them, it’s time to get to those lessons.