Borrowed Strength

People often talk about “finding” their spirit animal, as if the animal always chooses us. But there are times when we seek an animal because we need something they embody. We borrow steadiness the way we might borrow courage or clarity from someone we admire.

I’ve done this in my own life. During a particularly difficult stretch, I found myself thinking of my mother—how she managed a very full household, how she kept moving through exhaustion and uncertainty with a quiet, persistent strength. I asked her once how she did it. What she shared became a model I could lean on. That moment taught me that guidance doesn’t always arrive unbidden; sometimes we reach toward it when we’re searching for a way through.

Animals can be that for us, too. Even if they aren’t our lifelong companions, we can still look to the one whose qualities we most need in a certain season—resilience, confidence, patience, warmth. When I chose Lola all those years ago, I was consciously seeking a dog with a bit more  joie de vivre than I had at the time. I needed to walk beside a creature who didn't keep her nose to the grindstone as I'd been doing, who had more of a nose for adventure. And she gave that to me.

Penguin carries that kind of borrowed strength as well. Spirit animals aren’t only guides who arrive mysteriously in our dreams; they are teachers we can turn toward when the winds are sharp and the path is difficult. Penguin reminds us that steadiness is not a gift handed down from above—it is something practiced, shared, learned in community. We can choose to walk with Penguin when we need a model for endurance, warmth, cooperation, and the courage to keep moving forward even in the harshest season.

Sometimes a spirit animal chooses us. Sometimes we choose them. And sometimes, in the coldest moments of the year, we meet each other halfway.