Week 4
I’ll draw one ink drawing a day in November about character strengths.
I’ll pick an animal that best represent the strength and draw it to do something that humans with that top strength could be doing.
These are first posted on my other website which is in Finnish and called Tarinatädin värityskuvat (Storyteller Auntie’s Coloring Pictures). Tarinatäti is about inspiring children into storytelling and teamwork through making each individual in a group to be seen and heard. (Meaning I create coloring pictures for groups of children based on their ideas) I have met already over 700 children and loved every idea!
SELF REGULATION
Ahh, how graciously this giraffe has been advancing toward its goals without falling into temptations. Over the years (quite many of them) its neck has gotten taller and taller so that it would reach up to the leaves which it really wants to eat. News flash: Did you know its tongue can be half a meter long too! This Giraffe knows what means the most in its life so everything else can be easily discarded.
Is it easy for you to stick with your plans and head for your goals?
APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY AND EXELLENCE
The bowerbird male is finally ready with the hut! It invited a female bird for a visit to see how it had carefully arranged all the colorful and very beautiful flowers, pieces of mushrooms and other things it had found to make its hut gorgeous. It has been on it for a very long time. The bowerbird is the master in seeing beauty in everyday objects. That helps it find just the right things for this amazing arrangement! A masterpiece!
Do you get easily enchanted by the beauty of life?
GRATITUDE
Even if the mama cow and the calf are basically happy at all times, their hearts burst of gratitude in the spring when they get outside after the long and dark winter and the green, fresh grass is so soft and delicious. The calf has never seen green pastures before and its world is filled with wonder!
Are you enjoying even the smallest things in life?
HOPE
This little squirrel is filling up its winter food storage. It hides mushrooms on trees to dry them up.. The problem is that it never quite remembers where it put them, so here hope comes in handy! It trusts that it will always find food, because it knows there are other squirrels in the forest too, hiding their food and forgetting where they put it. And so these hope filled squirrels work together for a better winter.
Are you hopeful about your future?
HUMOR
The coyote brothers are laughing so hard when they realized one thing had just turned out wrong. They are really talented at laughing at their own blunders and they can make a joke about just about anything. Laughing together with someone is what makes their day and no one is left without a smile when they are with them. Joy is contagious when these coyote bros are in question.
Can you easily laugh at your daily blunders and mistakes?
SPIRITUALITY
Raven enjoys the quiet of the night by the bonfire. It watches the dance of the flames and looks up in the starry sky. The same stars twinkle in its eyes which makes them deep and wise. Every once in a while when the signs align it lifts up a smoke statue from the fire, molds it into a picture of itself, a raven, and sends it flying off to the sky. But first it ties a note in its leg for its ancestors and future generations. It knows it is part of a continuum of meaningful experiences.
Do you feel like you are part of a bigger plan?
THERE’RE PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM
Lion roared loudly “Let’s go now! Up and up in the sky!” Little ferret jumped right in and beaver took care that no one missed the flight. For a moment it seemed like the mysterious little mouse was about to be left behind.
“Together we are more!” reminded the beaver.
This trip caught the owl’s interest too even though it was a little bit hard for it to stay awake. It’s good that it was such a crispy weather! Other birds joined in flying next to the balloon too. The flying squirrel was calculating its glides carefully and took a rest on the side of the balloon every once in a while.
We all possess all of the 26 character strengths in us. We can harness the ones that are top strengths to help us in the everyday life and when we face challenges it’s great to know that we can also boost the strengths we use less often to help us.
Just do it with the beaver style – Everybody is invited and it will be alright!
In this picture you’ll find some of the character strengths I’ve drawn, do you remember which ones the animals represented?
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