April 26, 2011 – Day 26 – Spirit Animal Day – Give you or your condition a spirit animal and write about yourself or it as if you were that animal.
I am a giraffe in spirit. I may be short, but I can stand tall and proud when I feel strong and in control of anxiety.
Like a giraffe, when I feel free of worry, I can hang my head up high. I keep my mind busy with writing, reading, and other work, like a giraffe would concentrate on life out in the wild. I can speak easily of why I simply must participate in patient activism.
But also like a giraffe, when I feel confined by space or by my own thoughts, I resort to anxious behaviors like fingernail biting, hair twirling, and knee bouncing. Wikipedia’s article on giraffes explains that the animals in captivity may “resort instead to excessive tongue use on inanimate objects”.
Withdrawing from being tall and proud can happen to the best of us.
The last time we were at the zoo (I’m not a big fan of the zoo), I was so amazed by the giraffes. They were so calm and, like, seemed to radiate wisdom.