Loki meditation, and a walk with Siobhan the Axolotl.

 

I was fairly depressed after trauma therapy today, but I knew (and had been told) that that was common, and that I could expect it to happen at times, so I was not beating myself up over it.

I wanted to “recharge” and center again. I felt like I should go for a walk but didn’t want to. Instead, I put on a meditation to Loki. After listening to it for a while, I felt more uplifted, and like I wanted to go for my walk. Divine intervention from the Trickster maybe.

I decided to kill some birds with one stone: mail a card to my uncle, and get a tiny bit of rucking in. Also, there had been something that I had found online “take your plushie for a walk and try to find a flower for them.” I grabbed my new Squishmallow, Siobhan the Day of the Dead Axolotl (I just had to have him) 😊 and decided to take him with me. So I wrote a funny message to my uncle, I put on my ruck, grabbed the Squishmallow, and off we went for a very brief walk to the mailbox, so that I could mail my uncle’s card, get a mile in, and Siobhan could find a flower. (Of course, it’s late in the season for flowers, but he likes dandelions and they’re still easy enough right now, what can I say.) 😊

So yes, everything worked out okay, all that we wanted to accomplish was accomplished. Looking at it seriously now…again it may have been Loki’s divine intervention, maybe just me, but a lot of it was going out of my comfort zone. As some may know, plushies are a big way of coping from trauma and C-PTSD for me now. As they are for many, many people…but of course most adults, teens, and older children who have this coping mechanism are ashamed and embarrassed to take them outside and/or in public – what will people think? Will people laugh? Will they judge? People with C-PTSD have low enough self-esteem of course…

And I *had* taken plushies outside before but would always put them in a bag. This “walk” was a milestone – I walked outside holding my weird stuffed axolotl in my arms, with no bag. For the first time, I was able to carry around a stuffed animal in my arms, with no bag.

It was a quick walk – to the mailbox and back (and looking for a dandelion.) 😊 But it was still something worth mentioning.

Interestingly enough, according to his bio on his tag, Siobhan is someone who went out of his comfort level as well. Here’s what his bio says: “Meet Siobhan. Did you know he used to be afraid of the water? Now he loves going on night swims with his friends. His favorite part is how the stars in the sky make the water sparkle all around him! Want to join him? Join in!” (And let’s face it…who couldn’t love an Aztec dude with an Irish girl’s name like Siobhan???) 😊 (Shuh-von, for those of you who didn’t know.)

Unrelated (well, maybe somewhat related, as far as divinity goes) but interesting fact: “As legend has it, the axolotl is the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl, who disguised himself as a salamander to avoid being sacrificed.” (source: Axolotl (nationalgeographic.com))

Squishmallows are something! I have quite a few now, and I can see why they are so popular.

FYI: The Day of the Dead/Dia de Los Muertos line, which Siobhan is part of is great, although some did worry that they may be culturally insensitive to Mexicans who observe the holiday. I’ve considered that as well, but did see actual Mexican people on forums saying that they don’t take offense to them – they wish that they were easier to get!

I would still not go to a Day of the Dead celebration unless I was invited by a Mexican person who knew what they were doing. Interesting though, how similar the holiday is to the Gaelic Samhain! Makes you see the strong parallels between Ireland and Spain. Maybe that’s where Siobhan got his name from? 😊