I asked Amy to send me a picture of my inner animal spirit. She won’t let me share hers, but that’s me on the left.

I’ve always felt like a bear. A big, cuddly, nice, soft bear. Mellow. I like to sleep. I like to eat. I wander around, a little curiously larger than comfortable in my slightly oversized body.

I’m really fucking ferocious when I’m mad. Which doesn’t happen very often (maybe once a year). Don’t poke the bear.

Amy and I discovered each other’s respective animal spirit early in our relationship. I remember talking about it over a meal about 22 years ago – it was shortly after we started going out. That night I learned about all of her favorite animals. Did you know that she loves rodents – rats, mice, capybara, guinea pigs, pika, and groundhogs. When I say “pika” out loud Amy responds “super cute super cute.” (she just did that). She likes marmots also.

I love bears. Brown bears. Black bears. Polar bears. Grizzly bears. Ghost bears. Kermode bears . I love everything bear.

Do you know your inner animal spirit? Your partner’s? If not, you should.