Totem check
Dec. 10th, 2014 08:56![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillI've been thinking again about my totem animal. I shifted from owl to cougar during my last redefinition; when this one started, I sort of wondered whether I would shift again. I'm still not sure. It feels like cougar still describes me, though.
I am not a pampered housecat. I'm strong, graceful, and independent; when something needs doing, I approach it directly and get it done, but always with an eye to conserving my resources (sometimes that looks like efficiency, sometimes like laziness). I have patience enough to wait and observe until the right moment, then when opportunity arises, I take it quickly and with precision. Deception and illusion are not my element -- I am direct and true to myself, honest almost to a fault, though I know when to keep quiet and say nothing. I am very pragmatic, eyeing the ideal before moving on to the realistic. If there is a shot at the next level, I'll consider it carefully before committing myself, though I am not timid. I am not generally one to get fussed over petty details.
Like most cats, I am far more comfortable with the routine and the familiar than I am with excitement and adventure. I'm an introvert, needing time to simply sit with myself and be quiet. I'm generally even-tempered and mellow, tending toward a dry humor, but I am dangerous when my anger is roused -- I will savage whatever threatens the things which are dear to me. That happens rarely; anger is so energy-intensive. I don't suffer fools gladly, but they are most often met with sardonic irritation, not being worth the effort of getting angry.
And, of course, like any well-adjusted cat I will happily take caresses and attention, but I accept them most easily from those I know and trust. Strangers are to be assessed and their motives determined before they get close to me, even if I'm not worried about my own safety. I feel better when I can see the lay of the land around me and everyone in it, rather than being surrounded by the unknown. I am not xenophobic, simply cautious.
I suspect that most of these qualities will remain, even if I open up more to those around me. My basic values haven't changed, just the way that I see the world through the lens of my experiences. Cougar still feels right to me, and I enjoy being a lazy cat.
I am not a pampered housecat. I'm strong, graceful, and independent; when something needs doing, I approach it directly and get it done, but always with an eye to conserving my resources (sometimes that looks like efficiency, sometimes like laziness). I have patience enough to wait and observe until the right moment, then when opportunity arises, I take it quickly and with precision. Deception and illusion are not my element -- I am direct and true to myself, honest almost to a fault, though I know when to keep quiet and say nothing. I am very pragmatic, eyeing the ideal before moving on to the realistic. If there is a shot at the next level, I'll consider it carefully before committing myself, though I am not timid. I am not generally one to get fussed over petty details.
Like most cats, I am far more comfortable with the routine and the familiar than I am with excitement and adventure. I'm an introvert, needing time to simply sit with myself and be quiet. I'm generally even-tempered and mellow, tending toward a dry humor, but I am dangerous when my anger is roused -- I will savage whatever threatens the things which are dear to me. That happens rarely; anger is so energy-intensive. I don't suffer fools gladly, but they are most often met with sardonic irritation, not being worth the effort of getting angry.
And, of course, like any well-adjusted cat I will happily take caresses and attention, but I accept them most easily from those I know and trust. Strangers are to be assessed and their motives determined before they get close to me, even if I'm not worried about my own safety. I feel better when I can see the lay of the land around me and everyone in it, rather than being surrounded by the unknown. I am not xenophobic, simply cautious.
I suspect that most of these qualities will remain, even if I open up more to those around me. My basic values haven't changed, just the way that I see the world through the lens of my experiences. Cougar still feels right to me, and I enjoy being a lazy cat.
