Character Strengths

With spring already past and summer begun, I expected the usual sense of “Wait! Not yet!” to hit me like it does each year. However, this time it’s different. There’s real excitement in me for what’s to come.

All of my plans and goals are coming into reality at surprising rates, and, in my constant attempts at living in the moment and not getting tangled in what if’s, I’m letting myself acknowledge my progress without wondering what it will lead to.

There are so many discoveries to be grateful for within times of change—I recently took a character strengths survey and found intriguing results. My strengths came back as:

· Spirituality – (Transcendence)
· Kindness – (Humanity)
· Gratitude – (Transcendence)
· Perspective – (Wisdom)
· Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence – (Transcendence)

This lineup is a curious combination to me. The recurring theme of transcendence as a category had me digging into what that means and how it applies to my life.

What it comes down to as far as I could tell is an unusual awareness of emotions, thoughts, reality, and the spiritual/metaphysical world. That seems kinda over the top, all in all, but I have to admit it explains some aspects of how my life has gone so far.

I’ve often felt like I was on the other side of a glass wall, asking people if they can hear me—they usually cannot. There’s always been this distance, accompanied by startling closeness and clarity that typically leads to something wonderful or horribly painful. It’s a contradictory feeling that I’ve never been able to put properly into words.

But when someone answers me and can see through the glass? It makes every unanswered call worth it. Sometimes only for a little while, sometimes for long stretches. The value isn’t always in the timeline—it’s in the connection.

This metaphor doesn’t mean one side of the wall is better than the other, just different ways of being alive. Different ways of translating surroundings. And, maybe in one way or another, we all have a wall.

I’d love to hear about your results if you take the survey! Personalities are one of my favorite topics, and it’s fascinating to see the different combinations.

Anyway. I’m having a lovely time focusing on freelancing, I’ve just become a first-time homeowner, and my heart is full of possibilities again.