Hello friends!
Tis the season when we are usually around more people for festive celebrations, and lets be honest some of these people we wouldn’t choose to invest our time with if it weren’t for these festive events. This year could look much different for festive gatherings, but the benefits of being able to connect with others are timeless and rewarding. One of my favorite analogies for human relations involves zoo animals and the wisdom in objectivity. What is your favorite animal at the zoo? I’ve always been a huge fan of the penguins. The way they twist and turn under the water swimming like a torpedo until they shoot their bodies up out of the water sliding on their bellies ending back in an upright position is mesmerizing. I find their little waddle almost as captivating as their mating habits.
But…there are also the elephants. The elephants are majestic creatures, captivating in their own means. They are quite different from penguins with one glaringly obvious difference being the lack of graceful agility penguins so easily embody. In fact, the elephant is the only mammal which cannot jump, but then again they do weigh up to 14,000 pounds! The endless uses they find for their trunk is intriguing and the way they comfort their young with it is heart warming.
Would you ever expect an elephant to be a penguin though? Would you expect them to mirror one another’s abilities or characteristics? Never in a million years, right? In fact, if you saw someone at the elephant display wishing, hoping, and willing the elephant to act like a penguin you might even be entertained by the impossibility of the feat.
In our interpersonal relations we often expect someone to react, respond, or take on characteristics they do not innately possess. We see a person not as being the elephant they are but of wanting them to be the penguin we desire them to be. This elicits reactions such as tension, arguments, and disappointment not serving of the relationship we want so deeply to grow and foster. Can you see how this has played out in your own personal interactions? When did you want a specific type of emotional response from someone close to you but didn’t receive it? What response did you receive instead? How did this encounter between the two of you end?
With this tendency being so persistent in human behavior, Dr. Michelle Dexter and I have put together a workshop to empower you to come to understand the various personality types, how the different types view the world through their own unique perspective, and learn how to transform your own personality empowering you to cultivate the fulfilling relationships you desire.
This workshop is being offered January 9th, January 23rd, and February 6th via zoom. Recordings will be made available after the workshop so you will still have access to all of the materials even if you cannot make it to all three sessions. Additional details about this workshop can be found here or shoot me a message. Register to save your seat today! We are looking forward to seeing you there!
If you’re interested in experiencing a sampling of the Enneagram work with HBLU, you may do so by joining the Sacred Healing Project, a FB group. Thanks for stopping by!
Peace & Love,
Janessa