Crazy question, but do you ever find yourself walking/moving like some kind of critter or just have the urge to move like one? I worked an event yesterday–lots of unloading and moving boxes of supplies, setting up the tables, up/down working with the participants of the event, then breaking the whole thing down, reloading the truck, and driving home. The group I was out with goes to dinner after events so that we can all weigh in on how the event went. Did any of us encounter anything out of the ordinary? If so, how did we handle it? Did our supply boxes have everything we needed, etc. I was so stiff when we got up to leave that I could hardly move. My arms wound up stretched out behind me and I was kind of waddling as I walked—really an attractive image, yes? Seriously, I was walking like a penguin. But why a penguin?

In the past, orangutans were more the motion I’d move or stretch in, so why penguins? (I can hear you asking “why orangutans”, too? Think about it. After a long day or a hard session, it feels sooo good to stretch your arms up over your head, relax your knees, and just lengthen everything out.)

I’m moving through a pretty rough patch these last several weeks. Stuff is finally moving and getting sorted out. Not to mention working on emotionally surviving this coming holiday, etc…

After a little research, penguins now make perfect sense to me. First, I love them. They were my mom’s favorite critter. When looking up the spiritual meaning of various animals, I check several sources, including Stephen Farmer and Ted Andrews, but this site is also one of my go-to’s: https://www.fromtheangels.com/spirituality/spiritual-meanings-of-penguins-and-symbolism/. As you can see, penguins talk to us about hope, about faith, about friendship, and loyalty. Hope and faith, penguins for the win.

Thank you for being such a good reminder for me, Sparky!

~originally published May 8, 2016