The Urban Dictionary defines the term ‘spirit animal’ as the representation of the traits and characteristics we’d like to have ourselves. For example, if someone were to identify with a wolf as their spirit animal, they may wish to have more freedom in their life, or better instincts. Those people feeling a spirit animal connection with cats might be seeking more courage to explore the unknown.
I don’t consider myself to be a particularly mystical or superstitious person. But I would definitely say I am a spiritual person and I believe in things I cannot fully explain. Without launching a long and deeply personal debate conversation on the subject, I’ll just say that I believe we are connected to everything in our universe in one way or another, and that it’s possible to share emotions, traits and characteristics with living beings of the non-human variety. It’s why I know my dog understands me when I talk to her. And why I’m certain … absolutely certain that my spirit animal is a dachshund.
This is Georgie. Her full name is Georgia Poppageorgio. But I instantly regretted allowing my husband to choose her middle name for her registration papers and I now generally refer to her simply as “Georgia P.,” letting people use their own imagination to fill in that middle name. She is a wire-haired dachshund who turned 8 in March.
In addition to her utter adorable-ness, she’s smart, entertainingly funny, loyal, dedicated and friendly. She also possesses one quality which I find lacking in my own character … she can relax so completely, so deeply, so totally, that I sometimes have to watch her closely to be sure she’s still breathing and alive. I really admire that.
Here are some pictures of her in her most relaxed state …
… so peaceful, right?
When describing me, my friends and family often use terms such as “high strung,” “tightly wound,” “uptight,” “quirky,” “Type A,” “slightly neurotic,” “over-enthusiastic.” It’s okay, I understand and I happen to agree with them. I’ve always known I’m a worrier. I’ve always been one who feels an urgent need to plan, organize and make sure every detail is just perfect. While everyone else enjoys the resulting holiday extravaganzas, birthday celebrations, fabulously organized household records and a tidy home, though; I’m enjoying acid reflux, tension headaches, sleep issues, and a patch of skin on the inside of my wrist that hasn’t stopped itching in 3 years even though there is no rash or bite. I’m … tense. Full of anxiety. Worried about pretty much everything. It’s my curse.
Which is exactly why I think a dachshund is the perfect spirit guide for me. Who better to help me learn to embrace a more peaceful, relaxed lifestyle than one who, herself, leads a peaceful, relaxed lifestyle?
There may be a few flaws in my theory. For instance, even though Georgie has her dog chores, her work as Bathroom Supervisor, and her Family Bed full of Companions to manage … she doesn’t quite have the level of responsibility that I do. Her lack of a thumb and a finger keeps her from being tasked with many of the jobs I currently perform, including driving children to and from, managing household finances and bill paying, cooking, laundry, teaching school – all of which takes up a considerable portion of my days.
And she doesn’t have children to raise, so she doesn’t have the worries that entails – some of which are that I’m ruining their lives through my desire to home school; that they will never be able to live on their own as productive adults because I haven’t taught them to cook more than fried egg sandwiches and Ramen noodle soup without supervision; that they will ignore my warnings about picking up hitchhikers; and so on …
She also doesn’t have to think about what to wear every day, putting on makeup or fixing her hair, shaving her legs and underarms, monthly skin breakouts … it’s amazing how much stress those things put on a woman!
But what Georgie does have is the ability to be happy almost all the time. She lives in the moment. She can really focus on what’s important to her at a given time and give it all her attention, then when she’s through with that thing she just leaves it behind and moves on without looking back. These are characteristics I’d like to build within myself. Seriously.
So. I’ve been watching Georgie pretty closely, trying to emulate her carefree, worry-free, don’t let the past bring you down attitude. It’s harder than you might think. But I’m going to keep at it and kick stress and anxiety to the curb once and for all. Because full relaxation is a beautiful thing … right, Georgie?
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