So Why Would an Otter be Pensive?

I first came up with the name "Pensive Otter" several years ago when referring to myself in some context or another, though I don't remember the exact setting. The animal part of the name -- the otter -, though, I do remember vividly. The adjectival part of the name -- pensive -- is just part of my personality.

Back in the early '90s, when I was studying for a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, I was in a very interesting class in which we were asked to characterize each other's personalities with those often-perceived personalities of animals. There was a lioness in the classroom because of her keen observation, that certain beautiful note of nobility she had about her, and her academic agility. There were monkeys and horses; dogs and cats. People pointed to characteristics as steadfastness, canny-ness, loyalty and fidelity. When it was my turn, however, almost unanimously everyone had written down "otter." I found it strange since I did not know much about the creatures and because, as a city boy, the closest thing I saw to an otter would've been the rats in the subways. When I sought an explanation -- as was part of the exercise -- two words came up: playful and intelligent. It was true that I had a very good GPA (my high school peers would probably be shocked to know that) and that counseling theories and techniques came easy to me, but my classmates also saw me as one of the more playful and witty members of my cohort. I immediately loved the idea of being an otter and have adapted the creature, in addition to the owl, as my -- what do they call it? -- animal spirit. Otters are incredibly playful and yet are able to use tools to shuck clams and to forage for food as well as get themselves in and out of trouble. Since then, I have been referred to as an otter in various rather separate incidents, occasions, and settings.

Now, for the "pensive" part. It is no secret that I am introspective by nature. I think about a lot of things: big ideas, small ideas, people, places, whatever. My bachelor's degree was a combined Psychology and Philosophy degree and I see meaning and/or significance in almost everything. I love "wondering" and "wandering." I admire the great thinkers: Plato, DesCartes, Hume, Sartre, Nietzsche...even if I don't agree with them. I admire the likes of Newton, Einstein, Kepler, Hawking, and Kaku; Freud, Jung, and Yalom. Particularly, I love traveling, encountering new foods and cultures. I am awed by the various great religions and the countless spiritualities which all, in their essence, attempt to reach the same end. Yes, my life is an examined life with a healthy dose of playfulness and -- at times -- ignorance and arrogance.

So, Pensive Otter it is. What started out as a simple exercise in a graduate class has turned out to be a very important key in how I see myself and how, I believe, many of my students see me. The world is full of wonder and an examined life is worth living, but I don;t take myself that seriously either. Life is too short for that.

My question to you: what animal would most represent you and why? I would love to get some feedback.

Getting Started

For years, I had wanted to start a blog. I was never quite certain, however, about what to write or whether or not anyone would be interested. A couple of years ago I had posted some 25-Random-Things about myself on my Facebook page just for laughs, and the act seemed to produce some very interesting commentary. People did not quite know me as well as they thought they did and this, aside from my naturally introverted personality, has created in my friends and family a certain difficulty in categorizing not only my views or opinions, but also me as a person, as an individual, and as a social, cultural, and political member of society-at-large. I find myself now in a very intriguing time of life; 2011 has been a phenomenally positive year, my studies -- at least officially -- finished when I attained my doctorate degree in 2010, and I find myself wanting to learn different ways of expressing myself creatively through a variety of media, particularly through my rediscovered love for photography. Yet, none of my questions -- the truly important questions that encompass human nature, for example -- have ever been answered. I actually don't expect answers for them, and I think it is there out of which my need to write rises. I don't understand people who "don't ever wonder" or who are never curious about the spiritual or psychological world within them or the interpersonal and cosmological world outside them. I don't understand people who can classify human existence into white and black, or people who are certain that there is an after-life, or -- even less -- people who are certain that the universe follows very specific moral standards and rules other than those that simply make us rational animals who "can think about thinking."

What follows, then, is a collection of various thoughts and ideas, questions and observations, and an occasional theory or answer that will hopefully be reflective of how I look at life and its essence. In it I expect that readers will learn about my own likes and about my own views with each posting. There might even be a theory in the making. Who knows? There is, however, really only one thing if which I am certain and that is that I am uncertain. I kind of like that actually. It is this uncertainty that makes life worth living simply because it makes for a world of possibility and a universe of potential.