Costa Rica 2014:
My Husband: “We all represent characteristics of the animal kingdom. Take a moment and tell me which animal best represents you”
Lilly: ”That’s easy...I’m a Sloth! I’m laid back, lazy, and love to sleep”
Lilly immediately took my phone and changed her profile pic on my contact list to a sloth.
Sloths are best known for their extremely slow moments and are commonly associated with laziness. Their slowness is an incredible survival mechanism. A lazy person is commonly referred to as a sloth.
Spiritually - sloths represent calmness, relaxation, saving energy, and patience. They see to make their life comfortable, without asking much. You’re probably wondering why I’m obsessing over sloths. I had the good fortune of spending the past 7 days in Costa Rica. Simmi and my husband indulged me and took me sloth sighting on multiple occasions. Not only did we all feel Lilly’s presence but I was hit with a realization of the lessons that Lilly wanted me to learn through observing the sloths.
Stay relaxed and comfortable in what you have
Be comfortable in who you are
Be at peace with yourself and open up your soul to new discoveries deep within
Take a silenced, balanced, peaceful approach to life
Be in harmony with your circumstances and the world you live in
Accept your circumstances and embrace your self
Hard times come and go; you have to endure; there is no other option; you have to survive
Interestingly enough a Sloth's life span is between 20 - 30 years. I wonder if Lilly knew this. Lilly‘s choice of animal was definitely befitting. She had a good heart and lots of compassion. She was introverted, kind, gentle, and emotional. She had a lot to give. She found it difficult to express her emotions, so she was commonly misunderstood. Especially by me. She was laid back and patient. She loved helping and supporting others, even if sometimes they did not care at all.
As a parent, we have dreams for our children. We want them to succeed academically and professionally. We want nothing but the best for our children. In wanting the best, we forget that there’s our plan, their plan, and god’s plan. Our plan may not be their plan. This gap ends up guilting our children in feeling that they have failed us, that they are not good enough for us. In this process, we lose sight of the ultimate goal - our children’s happiness. At the end of the day, we fail to communicate we are happy in whatever makes them happy.
Lilly taught me that all a child wants is love and affection. It didn’t matter that her path was different than my vision. What was important was that I was always supportive and showed her love even at the hardest of times. She taught me when things get tough, you love harder. When things get out of control, you learn to be patient. And most importantly she taught me to just accept.
I miss you my sloth🦥
Pura Vida....