That darn cheery balloon…
Ambling through my life today with periodic thoughts of “Who IS this person?” The person gabbing and joking with the attendants at the recycling center; stopping an older woman (older than me, anyhow) who appears lost in the neighborhood; calling county government for answers to really boring questions (but important for our neighborhood’s peace of mind); intentionally joking around with 2 FedEx men and thanking them for their whole-hearted laughter.
WHO is this person? OMG, it’s me! I’m the one gabbing, joking, inquiring, intervening, waving to everyone. It’s me. How did this happen? HOW?
You’re probably wondering why I sound so puzzled. I’m an introvert, for heaven sakes! Yes, me. All the activities I described above are, um, extroverted. Out in the world (rather than IN HERE, the way of the introvert.) HOW did this happen?
My periodic Myers-Briggs personality tests over the years would never, let me repeat, NEVER, have predicted this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve all had labels applied to us at one time or another. Mine was (is?) introvert. Rather reserved, internal, revels in solitude….INTROVERT.
But where did my raucous laugh come from? My inclination to butt into social interactions in order to juice up a higher level of shared laughter? To epitomize the balloon in Winnie The Pooh’s quote “Nobody can be uncheered by a ballon.” Nature vs. Nurture?? Give me a break! An academic discussion would certainly burst Pooh’s cheery balloon.
Hey, let’s take a different tack. Ready? Per Walt Whitman:
“Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
That would be me and, undoubtedly, you. This being human thing…
As frustrating as it is for someone (like me) who wishes for consistent behavior in my life, Whitman’s belief also grants me the hope and possibility of ongoing growth and change. “I am multitudes.” Yes! As a youngster (or even a middle age-ster) I’ve often plagued myself with “I can’t do that.“ “Only young people can do this.” “Only…” STOP. I can actually do lots of “can’ts”, I just need to take my judgment hat off. As long as I enjoy the activity, why not?
A multitudinous container? We all are. You bet! Extrovert, introvert, whatever. Or as Popeye, that great philosopher of cartoon-dom, once said, “I Yam What I Yam! (What I Yam!) I may even take up singing despite my second-grade music teacher’s observation that I couldn’t carry a tune! 🥳 And you?
❤️Please consider sharing with others. Who couldn’t use more heart and humor in their lives?
An especially fun one Jan!
When I did the test in college it told me I would change greatly in the next 10 years and I did. I was born introverted, shamed out of it, and then it took me 20 years to reclaim that part of myself. I have both parts available to me and it's a blessing. Always good to increase laughter and happiness. Will be writing a blog soon about a little cat named Happy. It expressed to me a part of this intro/extro vert split and also about singing. You sound absolutely divine either in solitude or lifting the multitudes around you!