If you know me, you know I have a lot of shower thoughts. Since I’ve switched to the alternative Covid schedule I’ve often been showering at night, at which time I’m just aiming to get out and get comfy. This isn’t the point of this at all, other than today I showered early in the day and had an excess of shower thoughts. So, now I know the difference between my AM & PM shower modes.
I don’t know why I thought of unicorns.
My boss and I have a unicorn connection. I don’t know why or where it came from, entirely. I have a unicorn pen and card deck on my desk (I miss you, desk) that we often reference. My boss will reenact the unicorn life advice from my pen. It’s just what we do and who we are.
One part of the thought was this: I’m not really different from anyone else. Not any more or less than most. But a little bit goes a long way. My life has been weird. It is weird. It will continue to be weird. Some I chose, some I didn’t. Some is good, some is bad. It’s life. Just like everyone else. All stories are different but they still have a beginning, middle, and (hopefully a long ways off) an end.
I still am not sure how I got to unicorns.
However I got there, it led to me assertion that I am, in fact, not a unicorn. I’m a muleicorn. Or a donkicorn. That detail is TBD.
I was not born with a magical horn. I had to build that shit myself. The great thing about becoming your own whatever-icorn is that you get to actually make it what you want. Some people ARE unicorns. They have a special and magical life that most others don’t have. But how would they know any different? Can you know it’s special if you’ve never seen the alternative? Maybe? I’m sure there’s some kind of standard philosophical quite I could throw in there. Insert your own, I guess.
The thing about the muleicorn is that it can really carry a lot. It can be loaded down and piled high and it’ll just trudge through the path. Muleicorn can carry a lot. Don’t underestimate the muleicorn.
I can carry a lot. Sometimes it’s too much and things need to be dropped. Sometimes I’m underestimated and I’ll stomp a hoof. But I’m built for this in ways not all are; that’s how my horn was created. My horn is made from stronger stuff than the ones that come on their own. It won’t break or shatter and when the load is too much I’ll need to buck some off and have a little rest by a stream. That’s ok. Nothing to be sad about. We all need a rest sometimes. Watch the hooves though... They may be unpredictable.
*The exception to my broad statement, because I’ve said it many times, is India. In India, I definitely felt like a unicorn. Unlike anyone in sight in many ways. For some, that would definitely be unsettling but it’s not a position I find threatening or terribly uncomfortable. I think it’s quite enjoyable to be among those who are unlike you. It gives you an opportunity, in different ways than usual, to find out how they ARE like you (because they are) and also to learn about the differences.
When the stars are aligned and the light is shining in just a certain way I may appear as a unicorn, and feel a little extra sparkle, but it’s just temporary—like fancy shoes. When the festivities die down, I’ll kick off the shoes that pinch and I’ll be back to my good old muleicorn self; not quick or exotic but sturdy and steadfast. Don’t worry about how much I can carry, I’ll let you know when it’s too heavy.
