“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre “So did you figure out what your shadow totem is?” This was the first thing out of my husband’s friend’s mouth as I sat down to dinner at a local downtown restaurant, across from my husband and a couple friends we were meeting up with.
I laughed at the choice of question but then paused with wide eyes and replied, “YES, I DID! Oh my gosh. It’s an ant!” The backstory is that we had previously had a conversation about animal symbolism, and how figuring out what we identify with (spirit animal) or most fear (shadow totem) can help us gain deep insights into ourselves.
I had no trouble with identifying my spirit animal—an eagle—but could not for the life of me pin down my shadow totem. As he asked that question that evening, a light bulb in my head went off.
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