Animal Associations

This was a simple exercise that we did during RA training, but I found it very intriguing and I invite everyone to comment back with your own associations… Becky, you may recognize this from your psychology background.

The question is: what animal do you associate with most, and why?

This may be your favorite animal, or it may be one that you simply relate to.

Those of you who know me fairly well will not be surprised to find that I associate most with my favorite animal, the horse. Well, it makes sense – it’s my favorite animal because I associate with it so strongly.

At the risk of sounding like a Discovery Channel announcer, the horse is a very noble creature. Full of grace and power, they have an obvious strength, but (most) are humble enough to let us humans feel like we might dare to approach them. Indeed, if you are lucky enough to establish a deeper ‘bond’ with a horse, you will find them to be extremely loyal. However, this devotion is not given lightly and must be cultivated through trust, cooperation, diligence and respect. The horse does not respect those who show no respect in return. Furthermore, I have found that horses are some of the best judges of character in the animal world. They have a fantastic ability to perceive our deepest hidden emotions. At the same time, they can be quite comical and hunger for attention and approval. As herd animals, they thrive in community settings. Each one has its own unique attitudes and characters. Some are delicate and gentle, while others are fiery and compelling. In spite of the various differences between them, horses are first and foremost perfect companions.

I think people associate with particular animals because they recognize certain common character traits between them. Or, perhaps they see traits that they wish they could possess. Or maybe they associate with the lifestyle of specific animals. Whatever the reason, it’s interesting to see what you can guess about a person by knowing what animal they name. So, what animal do you associate most with, and why? ;)

Complete and Utter Failure

I see that James has alerted you all to my complete and utter failure at maintaining a blog worthy of note. I apologize. But in my defense, James posts his blogs in the wee hours of the morning when I am (more sensibly) asleep. Which is proof of the fact that we spend far too much time together during the day - leaving little or no time to blog. In any case, he usually tells you about everything that's happened to us anyway, so I dont have much to write about. :)

Well, lucky readers, that is about to change. I have just moved back into Weir House to begin my training as an RA, means that I will have more unique and individual things to write about, and (I assume) more time away from James in which to post. This is going to prove difficult, however, after spending most of the daylight hours together. I shall simply have to fill the resulting void with mindless blogging!

So really, you dont know what you've gotten yourselves into. ;)